Liam Brady: If anyone is going to improve our midfield, Jack Byrne must be given a chance

The players are with him, but Stephen Kenny has no magic wand to solve old problems

In the couple of games when Mick McCarthy gave him an opportunity, Jack Byrne showed he wasn’t frightened to carry the creative burden, writes Liam Brady. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

It was never going to be the time to draw conclusions on Stephen Kenny as Ireland manager after just three matches. There are some former internationals already reaching hasty judgments. But only one thing might have created doubts in my mind this early in this reign — and that’s if there were signs the players on the pitch weren’t fully on board with what the manager was asking of them.

But I saw no hint of that against Slovakia, none whatsoever.