A QUESTION ABOUT Euro 2024 could have been easily fobbed off or ignored by Stephen Kenny.
Instead, the former Republic of Ireland manager was typically honest and unafraid to hide any vulnerability about his feelings.
“It’s not an easy watch for me, personally, for obvious reasons. That’s the reality,” he said. “I haven’t watched as much of it as you normally would… I’ve watched several games. It’s been an interesting tournament.”
The Dubliner is now in charge of St Patrick’s Athletic, of course, after his spell in charge of the international team came to an end last year after missing out on qualification for Germany.
The League of Ireland’s mid-season break gave him something to focus his mind on over the last two weeks, specifically the visit of Bohemians tonight.
There have been times when it may have wandered, wondering what might have been had Ireland qualified for these European championships.
Kenny described the last fortnight as “intense”, even with his players away from their Abbotstown training base until the weekend.
Full back Kieran Freeman had his contract terminated by mutual consent as the Scot headed home to Raith Rovers while goalkeeper Joseph Anang was a more high-profile signing earlier this week.
The 24-year-old returns to Inchicore on a two-and-a-half-year contract after previously joining on loan from West Ham United in 2022. His performances during that campaign saw him move to Derby County for another loan spell before he was released by the Hammers at the start of the summer.
For Kenny, it’s the first building block in his own redesign at St Pat’s. He insists that “we won’t see a lot of changes in this window but we will definitely add more players”, although that subject of release clauses has once again raised its head.
Shelbourne lost centre back Gavin Molloy to Aberdeen this month for a fee believed to be in the region of €75,000 due to the terms of his contract at Tolka Park, an issue Damien Duff had previously been a vocal critic of long before a cornerstone of his defence departed.
“As a club it’s difficult to plan anything or build if you can lose somebody at a moment’s notice for a small fee. It is something that you have to decide whether it’s the direction you want to go based on the improvement of the team. These are the decisions a club has to make,” Kenny said.
Reports that former Ireland U21 international Daniel Mandroiu was a target were not denied by Kenny, but he admitted the likelihood was the attacker would remain in England after rejecting the offer of a new contract at Lincoln City in League One.
The St Pat’s boss also stressed that he will not just be targeting players in the early 20s’ age bracket as he moulds the squad to his liking.
“I don’t have an exact criteria for that. Hunger is, ye know… You want players who have a ceiling to improve and add to your group and have the capacity to get better. It’s not always easy to get the finished article.
“You definitely want that but I don’t have a preconceived concept that a player must be a certain age to sign. I haven’t come in with that mindset. We’re not trying to bring in high numbers of players in the short term because players need an opportunity when they come to a club. Just because they don’t settle in straightaway doesn’t mean they won’t in time.”
That would seem to go for the forward in the short term, with Kenny providing a vote of confidence in Ruairi Keating (four goals), Cian Kavanagh and Mason Melia. “It’s not really in our plans to sign a striker in the window at the moment.”
The draw for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round was also made during the mid-season break. FC Vaduz will be the opponents, a club who represent Liechtenstein in Europe but who play in the Swiss second tier.
There will be a FAI Cup tie away to Derry City this month, too, with league games against Bohs and Waterford making this month pivotal in shaping the rest of this season.
“It’s a big few weeks for us,” Kenny said.
Fixtures
All kick-offs 7.45pm unless states
Premier Division
- St Patrick’s Athletic v Bohemians, Richmond Park
- Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers, The Showgrounds
- Dundalk v Waterford, Oriel Park
- Shelbourne v Galway United, Tolka Park
- Derry City v Drogheda United, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
First Division
- Athlone Town v Treaty United, Athlone Town Stadium
- Longford Town v Finn Harps, Bishopsgate
- Kerry v Wexford, Mounthawk Park
- Cork City v Bray Wanderers, Turner’s Cross
- Cobh Ramblers v UCD, St Colman’s Park
