FAI chair Roy Barrett vows to stand with under fire Stephen Kenny

FAI chairman Roy Barrett has backed Stephen Kenny to continue as Ireland manager. Picture: Sportsfile

Stephen Kenny’s disastrous start to his reign will get an airing at a meeting of the FAI board today but chairman Roy Barrett insists the Ireland manager is on course for a new contract.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat to a Luxembourg side ranked 98th in the world not alone mothballed World Cup qualification hopes after just two games but piled the pressure on Kenny. Had the defeat at Lansdowne Road occurred in isolation, then the 49-year-old might be afforded a pass but instead it underpins a malaise evident by 10 winless games under his tenure.