Noel King believes Stephen Kenny would be "a very lucky man" to get a new contract off the FAI in the coming weeks.
The FAI board are scheduled to meet on November 29 for a review of this year's World Cup campaign and it is expected that Kenny will be handed a new deal to lead Ireland through the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
The Boys in Green recorded some poor results early in the campaign, including when losing 1-0 at home to Luxembourg, but things have undoubtedly improved in recent months.
A late brace from Cristiano Ronaldo is responsible for Ireland's only defeat in their last 10 games and Kenny's side were unfortunate not to beat Portugal in Dublin last Thursday before they defeated Luxembourg 3-0 on Sunday.
But King, who took charge of the senior Ireland team for two games in 2013 following the resignation of Giovanni Trapattoni, thinks the FAI should wait until after next year's Nations League matches before deciding if Kenny should lead Ireland into the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
He told RTE: "I’m pro-Ireland. I’m not anti-Stephen Kenny, not anti-anybody. I think he’d be a very lucky man at this stage [to get a new contract].
"I agree with what Liam Brady said, there’s no rush. Why would you rush?
"The Nations League is six games against teams around our own seedings. I think that would be a great judge to see how we go.
"I don’t see the benefits of giving him a contract extension at this stage. I don’t understand why people would want to give anybody, not just Stephen, a contract before we start on a new campaign.
"This is a new competition, six games against teams around ourselves. It will be a great opportunity for Stephen and go from there. Let’s look then at two years, four years if he wants, but he still has to come out of the bad sequence of results."
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