Shane Duffy has defended manager Martin O'Neill and his assistant Roy Keane in the aftermath of the Republic of Ireland's poor home showing against Wales on Tuesday, which ended in a 1-0 defeat in Dublin.
The centre half has insisted that, while it may be the manager's responsibility to pick the team that plays each match, it is the players who should be criticised for this poor run of form, because they simply have not been good enough.
At the final whistle on Tuesday night clear boos were heard from the stands, as the Republic of Ireland fans voiced their displeasure at the poor display mustered by their team against a below-strength Wales side.
The defeat marked Ireland's fourth consecutive game without a win, leaving them in clear danger of being relegated to group C of this year's UEFA Nations League tournament.
October 16, 2018
Manager Martin O'Neill was forced to defend his role in the wake of the loss, but defender Duffy insists that the players should take the brunt of the blame.
In an interview with 'Sky Sports' after the game, Duffy stated: "Well, it's us out there [on the pitch], it's not them. It's us playing. It's players' responsibility to go out and perform. They can tell us what to do, but it's up to us to do it. We've obviously let them down."
Duffy continued: "The players have to take responsibility and put it right. It's obviously not good enough. I wouldn't blame them. They're not out there. It's down to us. That's the main thing. We've got to look at ourselves."
October 16, 2018
The defender also answered questions on the possibility of the team's relegation to group C of the competition, which would mean that they will receive a lower seeding for EURO 2020 qualifying.
When asked about the consequences of finishing bottom of their current group, Duffy was defiant, claiming: "We're not looking at it like that. We don't think we'll finish bottom. We've got to believe that we can go out to Denmark and win, and hopefully other results go our way. We've got a never-say-die attitude. We won't give up now."
Duffy finished with a call to arms for his Republic of Ireland teammates, saying: " It's a bit of a low one at the minute. We've just got to pick ourselves up, regroup and have that never-say-die attitude. We've got to go again."