AS HIS TEAM prepares to conclude a campaign that won’t yield World Cup qualification, manager Stephen Kenny is nevertheless on course to earn a new contract from the Football Association of Ireland.
Performances and results have been considerably better since Kenny oversaw a dismal defeat to Luxembourg in Dublin back in March.
Sunday’s game away to the same opposition will offer Ireland an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the extent of their improvement, but first they’ll face the might of Portugal tomorrow night at the Aviva Stadium.
The visit of the Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias etc. provides the framework for the latest episode of The Football Family – an exclusive podcast for The42 members – on which Paul Dollery got the views of Gavin Cooney and David Sneyd.
“Stephen Kenny just has to maintain a bit of momentum and a bit of positivity,” David Sneyd said of the former Dundalk boss.
“It’s almost like the whole debate regarding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, where it’s only a couple of results away from anarchy and people doubting whether he’s the right man for the job.
“For a little while he has to continue picking up results, just to kind of keep that monkey off his back and give himself a little bit of breathing space. Even though [World Cup qualification isn't possible], it’s still a very important match.
“Regardless of the amount of experience Stephen Kenny has as a manager in European [club] games, it’s going to be another indication of: is he capable of setting up a team, with his coaching staff, and following it through at this level?”
Ireland midfielders Josh Cullen and Jason Knight gave Kenny their unequivocal backing earlier this week, but as Gavin Cooney points out, another catastrophic outcome against Luxembourg would be likely to damage his prospects of staying on.
“All the players do seem to have massively bought into what’s going on,” he said. “There seems to be a growing level of confidence that the contract extension will be granted, but we have to put in the disclaimer, ‘barring a disaster against Luxembourg’, because it’s only a few months since we last saw one.
“One of the reasons why there is that gathering of momentum behind the contract extension is the voice of the players, because they will be consulted on things.
“A leadership group led by Seamus Coleman will be consulted by the FAI before a decision is made, so I think that’s maybe the root of the confidence as to why this is going to roll on for another couple of years.”
You can hear the newest instalment of The Football Family, as well as accessing a huge array of other podcasts and newsletters, by becoming one of our valued members.
Details of how to do so for just €5 per month (or €42 for a year) are available here– and for a limited time only, take €5 off the cost of an annual membership by using the discount code FF5.
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'There seems to be a growing level of confidence that the contract extension will be granted'
AS HIS TEAM prepares to conclude a campaign that won’t yield World Cup qualification, manager Stephen Kenny is nevertheless on course to earn a new contract from the Football Association of Ireland.
Performances and results have been considerably better since Kenny oversaw a dismal defeat to Luxembourg in Dublin back in March.
Sunday’s game away to the same opposition will offer Ireland an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the extent of their improvement, but first they’ll face the might of Portugal tomorrow night at the Aviva Stadium.
The visit of the Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias etc. provides the framework for the latest episode of The Football Family – an exclusive podcast for The42 members – on which Paul Dollery got the views of Gavin Cooney and David Sneyd.
“Stephen Kenny just has to maintain a bit of momentum and a bit of positivity,” David Sneyd said of the former Dundalk boss.
“It’s almost like the whole debate regarding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, where it’s only a couple of results away from anarchy and people doubting whether he’s the right man for the job.
“For a little while he has to continue picking up results, just to kind of keep that monkey off his back and give himself a little bit of breathing space. Even though [World Cup qualification isn't possible], it’s still a very important match.
“Regardless of the amount of experience Stephen Kenny has as a manager in European [club] games, it’s going to be another indication of: is he capable of setting up a team, with his coaching staff, and following it through at this level?”
Ireland midfielders Josh Cullen and Jason Knight gave Kenny their unequivocal backing earlier this week, but as Gavin Cooney points out, another catastrophic outcome against Luxembourg would be likely to damage his prospects of staying on.
“All the players do seem to have massively bought into what’s going on,” he said. “There seems to be a growing level of confidence that the contract extension will be granted, but we have to put in the disclaimer, ‘barring a disaster against Luxembourg’, because it’s only a few months since we last saw one.
“One of the reasons why there is that gathering of momentum behind the contract extension is the voice of the players, because they will be consulted on things.
“A leadership group led by Seamus Coleman will be consulted by the FAI before a decision is made, so I think that’s maybe the root of the confidence as to why this is going to roll on for another couple of years.”
You can hear the newest instalment of The Football Family, as well as accessing a huge array of other podcasts and newsletters, by becoming one of our valued members.
Details of how to do so for just €5 per month (or €42 for a year) are available here – and for a limited time only, take €5 off the cost of an annual membership by using the discount code FF5.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
2022 World Cup COYBIG Ireland Podcast Portugal The Football Family