Kevin Kilbane is confident Ireland will now secure a Euro 2016 playoff place but wants to bring back a level of width to their attacking play for the final qualifiers.
Martin O'Neill's starting side began without a recognised winger in the 1-0 victory over Georgia, with the width coming from attacking full-backs Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady.
But Kilbane told Off The Ball that their deep positioning meant Ireland lacked a consistent threat from out wide without a winger in front of them.
"I would play Aiden McGeady. However we're going to play it further forward, I think we need width in the game - particularly in the Poland game - because if we're going to get a goal, it's going to come from a cross. It's going to come from something," said the former Ireland wide-man, who also added that the Boys in Green did not need Glenn Whelan for the Georgia game when he would be more tailor-made as a defensive-minded player against Germany and Poland.
"And I think it suits Wes. Wes at times plays in the No 10 position but you've got to get him into the game. How on earth are you going to find him in small spaces or small areas. It's difficult to get a play if all of a sudden you're playing with that No 10. If you're playing where he's coming in off the side sometimes you can say sometimes he stays wide and gets on the ball, sometimes he comes inside and gets on it himself. So it's difficult when all of a sudden you're staying in a certain area to get on it. It's difficult to get a No 10 in the match doing that without playing that way."
Kevin Kilbane ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
He also felt Ireland's group rivals Scotland were "over-confident" ahead of their defeat to Georgia last Friday.
"I just felt that Scotland were a little bit arrogant maybe - you might want to use a different phrase - but very over-confident and I thought they were too confident going into the Georgia game. I felt it after the game in June. I think they thought they had almost qualified by getting the point against us in the Aviva," he said, adding that he is "confident Ireland will get third now" in the qualifying group.
Kilbane also addressed the small Aviva Stadium attendance for the Georgia game, where 40 per cent of seats were unoccupied.
"The world champions are coming to town and we're on the verge of a playoff for a major tournament and yet we're still not getting the crowds in, whereas over the last 20 years, we've had huge crowds, particularly for this game. We've got to be careful because we're on a knife-edge at the moment and we need to really get it right and we've got to get the crowd in. It's very important for the Germany game," he said.
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