Ireland were perhaps fortunate to emerge with a point on the night despite belatedly creating a series of chances to snatch victory.

A highly unsatisfactory 90 minutes provided further ammunition for the 72-year-old’s critics to decry his conservative approach and bemoan a lack of creativity in his team.

Last night in Moscow, Ireland somehow scrapped their way to a similar result on the plastic pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium after surviving a mighty Russian onslaught, and the goalless draw was celebrated as if it were a thumping victory.

“I told the players St Patrick was looking down on us,” Trapattoni said in the immediate aftermath of a breathless encounter. “We had the luck of the Irish.”

Victory for Russia would have put them firmly in the driving seat to clinch their passage from Group B, which they lead by two points.

However, last night’s stalemate means Dick Advocaat’s men now face a tricky trip to Slovakia, who lost 4-0 at home to Armenia last night, knowing that unless they avenge their 1-0 home defeat last September, the Republic could yet edge past them.

But Ireland, who extended their record run of consecutive clean sheets to seven in Moscow, know they will almost certainly have to win in Andorra and at home to Armenia, who are now only a point adrift of the Irish, to stand any chance of pipping Russia to the post.

The task for Trapattoni is to ally a greater cutting edge to the commendable defensive resilience which served his team so well last night.

One of the veteran Italian’s biggest attacking weapons, Spartak Moscow winger Aiden McGeady, spent much of last night’s game at his home ground attempting to limit the attacking threat of full-back Aleksandr Anyukov.

Asked to explain Ireland’s failure to score in each of their last three games, McGeady replied: “If I knew the answer to that, I would be standing on the touchline being a manager.”

Captain Robbie Keane, however, insisted the value of defensive solidity, particularly in tough away games, cannot be overestimated.

He said: “When you come away from home and you are playing against a team like that who had the majority of the ball – of course, you want to score as many as you can, but it’s important to have a clean sheet as well.

“The performance that the lads showed – people can say what they want, but that was some performance by the team.”

There are those who believe Trapattoni’s rigid belief in a system in which two holding midfielders protect the back four is fatally limiting; he argues that in wingers McGeady and Damien Duff and strikers Keane and Kevin Doyle, he fields four attackers in every game.

But at the end of an international week in which reports suggested the manager will be offered a contract extension on a reduced salary provided Ireland at least make the play-offs – at the same time, the name of Roy Keane was being floated as a potential replacement – his philosophy needs to be rewarded in the hard currencies of goals and precious points.