Stephen Kenny: ‘Devastated’ Dundalk will bounce back

Stephen Kenny has admitted that the Dundalk dressing room was “devastated” after the scoreless draw with BATE Borisov which saw his side exit Europe on Wednesday night.

But the manager insists that the defending champions can lift themselves for one of the biggest games of the domestic season when Cork City, currently six points behind the leaders, arrive at Oriel Park for a top two head-to-head clash in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division on Sunday.

“One thing the players are, they are quite a humble group and level-headed,” says Kenny. “They will digest the disappointment of losing as it is disappointing — we had high hopes and were very focused on trying to win the game. The players are devastated. But there is time before Sunday to regroup and we know it’s a big game for us. We’ll need to perform again.”