Republic of Ireland came very close to suffering a big shock in Kazakhstan in their first World Cup qualifier.

Ireland needed two goals in the dying embers of the game to snatch a 2-1 victory. Robbie Keane scored from the penalty spot in the 89^th minute, before Kevin Doyle scored from close range in the last minute to spare the Republic’s blushes.

Disharmony

There seems to be a lot of disharmony in the Irish camp at the moment and a lot of it is because of boss Giovanni Trapattoni’s selection policy. The Irish boss has raised eyebrows amongst the players and fans with some of his selections and it seems the Irish fans are not happy.

Everton midfielder Darron Gibson asked not to be considered for the Ireland squad because he was disappointed about not getting used at Euro 2012. Sunderland winger James McClean took to Twitter to launch a rant at his national team boss, before hastily removing the comment and apologising. These two incidents suggest that all is not well in the Irish camp.

Frustration

Both players are rightly frustrated at not being played. McClean might have vented his frustration in the wrong way, but he has a right to feel frustrated. He an exciting young player that could have a big impact on the Ireland team, yet Trapattoni leaves him on the bench.

Gibson has been superb for Everton since his arrival at Goodison Park from Manchester United. He definitely deserves a chance in the starting eleven, but Trapattoni sticks with the same group of players.

Qualified

Republic of Ireland did well to qualify for Euro 2012, but then was poor in the group stages. They did face some really good opposition in Spain, Italy and Croatia though. The team that played at Euro 2012 was designed to be functional, rather than stylish.

The performance in Kazakhstan proved that maybe it’s time for Trapattoni to change his team. Unfortunately the Italian is probably too set in his ways to change now. That beggars the question do the Republic need to change their boss?

Do the Republic of Ireland national team need a new boss?