'Whose great idea was it to play Andorra?': Brian Kerr says little gained from recent friendlies

Ambassadors Brian Kerr and Michael Darragh MacAuley with, from left, Mehari Kahasay, Michelle Kane, recreation worker, Dublin City Council and Mariama Kamari at the launch of the Football for Unity Festival taking place in Dublin from Monday, June 14 to Friday, July 16. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Brian Kerr has downplayed Ireland’s progress under Stephen Kenny, questioning the wisdom of the Spanish training camp and what value accrued from friendlies against Andorra and Hungary.

The former Ireland boss was particularly concerned about the standard of the end-of-season gathering, given his insistence that only victories over top seeds Portugal and Serbia in September will rescue their World Cup qualification plight.

After the despondency of losing both opening qualifiers to Serbia and Luxembourg in March, some glimmers of hope emerged in the 4-1 victory over Andorra and holding a Hungary side bound for the Euros scoreless on Tuesday.

Kerr, the last home-based Ireland boss before Kenny when he took charge between 2003 and 2005, even suggested it was the players, rather than the manager, who decided to change the team’s style early on in Budapest.

Amid the flak shipped for winning just one of his 13 games at the helm, Kenny has constantly spoken of the possession-based doctrine he’s keen to develop.

But Kerr, who led Ireland to double gold at the U16 and U18 Euro finals in 1998, isn’t convinced that strategy is realistic if the manager is so keen on overloading the team with new and inexperienced players.

“I love seeing younger players coming in but there’s been an overemphasis on the style of play and promotion of young players who haven’t really done a lot in the club or international game,” reasoned Kerr.

“I’m not sure there was massive value from the two friendlies. Whose great idea was it to play Andorra, whose all-weather pitch is hours away on a bus from the base in Spain?

And why go to one of the hottest places in Europe for a camp where you’re limited by the conditions? Some of that baffles me.

“It goes along with the lack of experience among people surrounding the international team. That was shown by taking on England in a friendly last November as preparation for two Nations League fixtures.”

Kerr was glad Ireland diverted from Kenny’s grand design in Budapest, only saddened that the pragmatism may well have come too late to end the 20-year wait for a World Cup appearance.

“The likes of Finland, Bulgaria and Wales in the early games all sat back and let us build up from the back whereas Hungary had a different plan,” he explained.

“They closed us down and, after getting away with some ridiculous things in the first eight minutes, we were more sensible. There was a much better mix; it’s not all about possession or dominating in every area. The question is whether it was the players who made up their mind to play it a bit longer? I think so but there might have been a plan to change it up a bit.

“Stephen spoke as if this would be handy but it’s not easy. You are not going to be able to control the ball against other international teams. I think that realisation has come to him over time with the results.

“In my view, we are out of the running for the World Cup already. It is going to take something very dramatic, like beating both Portugal and Serbia in September, or Luxembourg taking points off those teams.”

- Brian Kerr officially launched the Football for Unity Festival in conjunction with Sport Against Racism Ireland — taking place in Dublin from Monday next until Friday, July 16. The venture aims to foster the social inclusion of third-country nationals sustainably through active participation in football-based initiatives.