Euro 2024: No success under Stephen Kenny but progress was made

THE return to international action seems to be here quicker than expected. Maybe it’s because Ireland’s dead-rubber contest with the Netherlands tonight is a rather unwelcome reminder of the side’s lack accomplishment in this Euro 2024 qualification campaign.

Credit to the Irish fans who made the journey to Amsterdam to follow the Boys in Green when nothing is at stake apart from saving face. Even though a couple of days in the Dutch capital is far from a hardship. Maybe the more deserving acknowledgement should go to those who will make the trip to the Aviva for Tuesday’s nothing-burger friendly against New Zealand.

The rugby union version of this fixture would guarantee a full house and much anticipation among the fans, this soccer version will be lucky to see enough people to cover the costs. But it does offer those willing to make it to Dublin 4 the likely opportunity to say they were there to see the last match for Ireland under Stephen Kenny.

There has been no official declaration from the FAI that Kenny’s tenure definitely comes to an end after Tuesday’s match, but all indications point to them not renewing his contract and that they will look elsewhere for the next manager.

The list of candidates speculated on varies from Sam Allardyce to Gus Poyet, but with Lee Carsley and Neil Lennon the bookies’ favourites to step into Kenny’s shoes come the new year.

During the week, Kenny was eager to point to the progress made under his tenure.

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“I’m proud of what this squad represents - the skill levels and values that it is has, " he said.

And despite only winning two of the seven games played so far in this qualification group, it is important to note that there has been progress under Kenny, even if it is extremely unlikely that he will be around to enjoy the fruits of this progress.

Of the 24-man squad selected to face the Dutch and the Kiwis, 20 of them made their competitive debut for Ireland under Kenny.

Again, beyond any faults Kenny is responsible for, we do have to acknowledge that the 52-year-old former Dundalk boss took control just at the point of a difficult transition for this Irish team, the setbacks from covid, and the ongoing FAI finance concerns, all the while under the media speculation on whether he could handle the step-up from League of Ireland management.

However, he has steered these new, young, players through this transition to the point that while they have not enjoyed the success we wanted for them at national level, at a personal and professional level they have thrived. With Kenny pointing out that:

“We had all those players in League One, we had eight or 10 in some squads, we don’t have any now. Last year, we had no one in the Premier League some weeks, now all of a sudden, we got quite a few coming through and playing.”

Certainly, there are a number of names within the team who did not have a big profile before their inclusion in Kenny’s teams.

We witnessed the goals of Callum Robinson, the emergence of Michael Obafemi and Troy Parott’s attacking options. The exciting star value of Chiedozie Ogbene and Evan Ferguson for club and country. While John Egan and Nathan Collins have become rock solid setup in defence in front of Gavin Bazunu, who will always be ed for his saves against Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in particular.

Style

Another aspect Kenny introduced as his style was the ground-ball play. Effective or not, one can not describe Ireland’s play as ugly or boring. Maybe in some cases it was ill-advised, but it rarely left you wanting to switch off, which was sometimes the case under Kenny’s more successful predecessors.

The coming matches for Ireland are of little import for anyone. Whatever the results. One expects that Kenny will want to sign-off on a high. Whether or not that actually happens, there is a definite need to acknowledge that for all the setbacks, Kenny has left this young team in a better place.