Republic of Ireland legend and pundit John Giles believes that Stephen Kenny is making 'a mistake' in favouring Matt Doherty over Seamus Coleman at right-back.
The new Tottenham Hotspur signing started both games in Ireland's wobbly international window last week.
And ahead of the Slovakia play-off next month, he looks to be first-choice in the position ahead of captain Seamus Coleman.
But Giles believes that Doherty is not suited to the role, pointing out that the former Bohs man excels at club level playing as a wing-back with less defensive responsibility.
Deployed at full-back in Kenny's Irish set-up, the ex-RTE pundit reckons that Coleman is a better fit for the position going forward.
"There's been a lot of controversy about Coleman not playing with Doherty in his place," Giles said on Eamon Dunphy's The Stand podcast.
"I think he's (Kenny) making a mistake there. Doherty, when he played for Wolves, was a wing-back.
"The wing-backs have the freedom to go and attack whenever they want.
"When he's played for Ireland in the last two matches, he's not playing as a wing-back, he's playing as a full-back."
He added: "My take is that Seamus Coleman should be playing.
"He is a full-back and he gets forward at the right time."
