Far be it for us to dole out unasked-for advice... oh wait, no, sorry, that's actually our favourite thing. So listen up radio land, here's some much-needed unasked-for advice. With Ryan Tubridy gearing up to take on what was formerly Gerry Ryan's slot on 2FM, posting a diary of the preparation on YouTube, you think just looking at the resources RTÉ have would be enough to frighten its morning competitors – Today FM and Newstalk – into getting their battle faces on.

But instead of trying to win over listeners before Monday, the other stations seem to be rolling over, with Ray D'Arcy and Tom Dunne on holidays and filler staff being given the reigns. Surely it would make more sense for RTÉ's competitors to be bringing their A-game to the morning shows, trying to poach the few people dillydallying over which pot-luck presenter to listen to?

Maybe fans of Tubridy who weren't into Kathryn Thomas or Gavin Duffy would be more inclined to stick with a station that had a big name on the airwaves, and maybe, just maybe, some of them would stick to a non-RTÉ station even after Tubridy takes over, if they were given that option.

Newstalk and Today FM have seriously missed a beat by not tactically competing for an audience before RTE's new schedule kicks in.

Maybe they think the battle is already lost?