As the FAI go in search of a new Republic of Ireland manager, the best route forward would be evolving the Stephen Kenny blueprint rather than totally ripping it up, according to Paul Corry.

The governing body confirmed the end of Kenny's three-year tenure after last week's friendly draw against New Zealand which had followed consecutive disappointing qualification campaigns for major tournaments.

The Boys in Green do not return to action until friendlies in March, while competitive games will have to wait until September when the next UEFA Nations League campaign begins.

In the meantime, the FAI, with director of football Marc Canham likely to be to the forefront, will be looking to fill the managerial vacancy with the likes of Neil Lennon, Gus Poyet and Steve Bruce having signalled interest in the role to varying degrees, while Lee Carsley and Roy Keane are among other names thrown into the ring of speculation.

Whatever name eventually emerges from the hat, ex-UCD, Sheffield Wednesday and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Corry believes a level of continuity needs to be maintained to an extent in terms of the plan for Kenny's successor, given the recent policy for both the men's and women's national sides has been about aligning processes from the underage ranks up to the seniors.

"It should be a continuation from Kenny and, for me, that would be an alignment from the CEO, to the director of football, to whoever's going to be in charge," he told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

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"We shouldn't find a situation whereby we completely rip up the plan or the process or whatever you want to call it, or the style of play, and go back to something that looks so foreign to what Stephen was trying to do.

"I think what people are asking for is balance and we probably didn't see enough balance in Stephen's play, whereby we need to become more difficult to play against, at times we're going to have to sit deep and be a bit ugly and put our backs up against the wall and just be difficult to play against.

"But that continuation of trying to be a bit more of a possession-based team at the right time and the right place in the park, should absolutely be at the forefront of whoever is going to put their hands up and take this job forward. I'm sure that's what the FAI will be looking for."

On the podcast, Corry and the42.ie's David Sneyd ran the rule over each of Carsley, Lennon, Poyet and Keane, and their potential pros and cons, as well as the likelihood of any one of them being appointed.

Corry shared an anecdote about how Greece manager Poyet impressed him during their interactions behind the scenes when the ex-Ireland U17 midfielder visited Brighton during his UCD career.

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Meanwhile, the Ireland women's team are also in an interregnum stage - albeit longer than the men's side - with no permanent manager announced since the parting of ways with Vera Pauw at the end of August.

Interim manager Eileen Gleeson has steadied the ship during a successful Nations League run that has already resulted in promotion to the top tier League A with two games to spare.

But with bigger fish to fry in that top tier next year when it morphs into the 2025 European Championship qualifiers, it has meant Pauw's ultimate successor will have had less time to get their feet under the table.

"I thought getting somebody in place for the Nations League - maybe not from the very beginning but at least halfway through it - would have been ideal for the next person to come in, purely on the basis of the opposition that you're playing against," Corry said.

"You can try things out, you can look at different formations, play people in different positions, even just put your own stamp on things.

"And I thought that was probably a missed opportunity. They [the FAI] have had a long period of time, let's be honest about it.

"It's been a couple of months from the end of the World Cup and, yes, Eileen has done a good job in steadying the ship and we've probably seen elements of being a bit more expansive within that team as well.

"But I thought that we should have had somebody in place by now. I don't think you want to find yourself in a situation whereby you're heading into qualifiers and it's maybe the second or third time that a manager's got an opportunity to work with the squad."

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Watch Republic of Ireland v Hungary in the UEFA Nations League on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on 2fm

Watch the draw for the Euro 2024 finals on Saturday at 5pm on the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player