After 17 home matches without defeat in which Ireland have beaten the likes of Norway, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Croatia, and held Brazil to a goalless draw, it took an Italian side still in pre-season to hand Kerr his first loss at Lansdowne Road.

Coming just three weeks ahead of a vital World Cup qualifier at home to France, it was a result that was hardly ideal, with the first-half performance of particular concern.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi set his team’s stall out to play high tempo early on, and they responded by taking a 2-0 lead just after the half-hour with goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino.

Tottenham winger Andy Reid instantly gave the Republic hope with his first goal for almost a year, but with the exception of a belated surge, Italy were rarely troubled.

In addition, France beat the Ivory Coast 3-0 in their friendly in Montpellier last night, with the inspirational Zinedine Zidane crowning his comeback from retirement with the second goal.

As Kerr conceded: “I’ve got plenty to mull over after this.

“I thought we gave a decent performance and played quite well. But overall, it was a tough match as they were technically superior to us and physically stronger as well.

“That’s a concern, while we gave away more chances than I would have liked, although we made quite a lot as well.

“They were also better than us defensively, which was understandable given the reputations of Italian defenders in their league.

“They gave us trouble and it took us time to deal with their system and individuals, but once we got to grips I thought we did quite well. It was as good an exercise as we could have got.

“There were still a lot of good performances around the pitch and we will have a chance against France.

“But we will need a better, tighter performance and more discipline defensively. We won’t be able to give away so many chances.”

Kerr must also decide whether to revert back to the tried-and-trusted, but somewhat staid 4-4-2 system, or keep faith with the 4-3-3 he deployed last night, with Clinton Morrison spearheading a striking triumvirate which included Reid and Damien Duff.

Kerr added: “I felt it [4-3-3] could be effective for us, while I also wanted to get Steven [Reid], Matt [Holland], Kevin [Kilbane], Andy and Damien playing in their club positions.

“We’ve been very slavish in Ireland in general about 4-4-2 and it’s benefits. It’s fine, but it depends on the players you have.

“When you look at Italy, in their last three matches they’ve played three different systems – 4-3-3, 4-4-2, and in this game 4-3-2-1.

“Because there’s not too much change or variation in the English league, I don’t think that’s particularly good for a player’s education.

“It’s not something we can do anything about, but I still think we did well, created chances with 14 decent attempts on goal.

“I wanted to play the team we did. I will look at it again and review it in a calmer environment. I will think about things and make my decisions over the next few weeks.”