FAI chief football officer Marc Canham hopes to see "positive progress" under Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson after a disappointing start to his tenure.
The new Ireland boss oversaw consecutive 2-0 home defeats in the Nations League to England and Greece, with clashes against Finland and the Greeks to come next month away from home.
While Ireland were outclassed against England, the manner of the loss to Greece drew criticism and the majority of the Aviva Stadium crowd had departed before the full-time whistle.
Canham, who recently moved in the new job title of chief football officer having previously been the director of football, feels there is no reason to panic with the new regime.
"The beauty of football is there is always a few games around the corner so we have games coming up.
"We hope we see positive progress in the development of the team and ultimately start to pick up results.
"That is important for Irish football, for the fans and public, who want to see as much as we do a successful Irish team playing here at the Aviva Stadium and major tournaments
"You always have to balance between the short-term and long-term. As I've said before, we believe Heimer is a really good fit for Irish football to move up rankings which is really important in terms of qualification. We believe he can take us forward over the next couple of years and hopefully even further beyond that."
Canham was initially appointed director of football with the FAI in June 2022 before changing position last month.
Asked what led to the new post, he said: "My role is everything from grassroots to international, so I'd say it's more of an evolution of my job and my responsibilities.
"It has broadened over the time I've been in the association.
"Over the course of last year I have line management and responsibility of the head coaches of the senior men's and women's team, so really it's just a recognition of the job I've been doing for a period of time as opposed to a sudden change at this point."
Canham and grassroots director Ger McDermott provided an update on the Football Pathways Plan by the FAI which is replacing the Emerging Talent Programme that has existed for more than a decade.
Funding remains the key issue for the body, with Canham explaining just why it was so important in the context of the realities facing League of Ireland clubs in terms of finance and no longer being able to export players at a young age.
The gulf in ability was sobering for Irish football against England and may have proven a reminder of just why it is so important for a change in tact.
Canham said the crossroads England faced in the past could prove an inspiration.
He explained: "There was big change for England when they didn't qualify for Euro 2008 and big reforms to the way players were developed and coached. Seven of their starting XI that played at the Aviva Stadium were seven or eight at that time and three more weren't in the squad like Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham were seven, eight and 10.
"What you saw on the pitch a few weeks ago was years and years of development.
"While we absolutely want short-term success, and the fans really want that, we also know it takes time to achieve that success and get the quality of player coming through. That is what the pathways plan aims to do."
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