Brian Kerr looks dejected after the final whistle in Basel

Brian Kerr will look forward to a friendly against the Czech Republic next month as the chance to finally begin building his own Ireland team.

When Kerr took charge of the national team at the start of the year he inherited the squad left behind by Mick McCarthy.

However Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Group 10 winners Switzerland ended Irish hopes of qualifying for Euro 2004 and Kerr will use the next 12 months to mould the team his way ahead of qualification for the 2006 World Cup.

"We had a provisional arrangement with the Czech Republic that if we didn't make the play-offs we might meet them in a friendly in November," said Kerr.

"It will give me the chance to bring in some players who have shown potential.

"We have some players with us here in this squad who were not involved, the likes of Stephen McPhail, Graham Kavanagh and Steven Reid, and there are a number of other players who have been spoken about".

We need some players to emerge Brian Kerr

Those "other" players are likely to include four youngsters who have shown promise in the under-21 team - Liam Miller, Andy Reid, Sean Thornton and John Thompson.

The series of friendlies Kerr will now line up will also be used to enhance the experience of the likes of John O'Shea and Colin Healy, who both looked a little bit out of their depths against the Swiss.

"We are starting afresh and we have got a bit of time with the next few friendly matches to look at a few players," said Kerr.

"We need some players to emerge and show the potential to be our new leaders.

"The majority of this team are experienced but they need to play more often and more consistently.

HAVE YOUR SAY The future is bleak only if you want it to be! We have a chance to rebuild and we will be back stronger for the WC 2006 qualifying campaign From Green White and Gold Boyo Join the 606 debate

"We need to get the blend right for both home and away matches, and we need to be able to play in different ways and not be so rigid in our formations".

Kerr has now been in charge for 10 matches, including six qualifiers, and the Swiss result was his first defeat.

"Any defeat annoys me and upsets me and I will work harder to try and improve things and make it better for the future," he added.

"I am not giving any excuses, we did not do well enough".

The most disappointing aspect of the Irish performance was the lack of urgency from a team which had to win the game to keep their hopes alive.