Caoimhín Kelleher facing dogfight to reclaim No.1 spot
Tullamore was a scene of summer serenity for Stephen Kenny yesterday but the seasonal changes could darken the outlook for the idle hands of Caoimhín Kelleher.
Goalkeepers are a rich crop amid a barren harvest of Irish Premier League exposure for a campaign kicking off this weekend and those most active in the early throes will be rewarded when Kenny’s crew resume their Nations League schedule towards the end of September.
Kelleher had every reason to feel he’d solidified the No 1 spot walking out of the Miejski Stadium in Lodz on June 15. A sixth straight start between the posts ended with a 1-1 draw against Ukraine on neutral territory, conceding just his third goal of the quadruple-header.
What nobody has so far established - and becomes relevant to his current plight - is how the Corkman felt physically leaving camp that night.
Kenny was left jolted by Jurgen Klopp’s revelation last Thursday that the groin injury sidelining his back-up stopper for at least another fortnight originated from that international gathering.
Had Kelleher been fit, he’d have started Saturday’s Community Shield curtain-raiser against Manchester City – a platform to attract a loan suitor, if he’s of that mindset.
His post-match sentiments in Lodz were notable for deviating ever so slightly from his steadfast position of sticking around Anfield as Alisson’s understudy.
Based upon Kenny’s assertions once he’d fulfilled the formalities at the FAI Soccer Schools yesterday, the probability of Gavin Bazunu and Mark Travers beginning the season as first-choices at Southampton and Bournemouth respectively flips the hierarchy of custodians.
“It caught us by surprise because I actually wasn't aware that Caoimhín was injured, to be honest,” admitted the Ireland boss, smiling wryly at being taken aback by the affable German.
“If Caoimhín was injured or wasn’t right, he would have been out of training or not training (in June). I'd have comfortably played Mark Travers because he really excelled in the training camp. It looks like he has come up a notch again. It was a surprise for me to see that.”
Kenny intends watching Bazunu’s likely Premier League debut at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in the flesh, doubling up as an opportunity of hopefully seeing the comeback of Matt Doherty. He missed the June assignments with a serious knee injury suffered in April.
“It gives Gavin a strong opportunity - also Mark at Bournemouth,” Kenny confessed about the duo leapfrogging Kelleher in the pecking order.
“It will be interesting to see. We've had Gavin and Caoimhin injured in different camps. It's a competitive area and will remain that way; the element of competition is important. You can't say anyone has absolutely established themselves as the No 1. That is still the case because the reality is there isn't a No 1 goalkeeper.”
Match fitness criteria isn’t exclusive to goalkeepers. Before his squad dispersed in June, an imperative for a cluster of players to seek refuge elsewhere was spelt out as a summer project.
Their ability to recover for Armenia at home, a three-day turnaround from visiting Scotland on September 24, was the demand.
“I do stress the importance of playing and it's what we find when we get players in,” Kenny explained.
“It's not an exact science but match fitness can be important. Sometimes there are exceptions but playing regular football is what you want.” Some ascribed to the edict – Jeff Hendrick’s loan from the periphery at Newcastle United to the forefront at Reading, albeit down a tier, shining brightest as the exemplar.
Only a cohort is insulated from a precarious existence.
Josh Cullen is the fulcrum of Vincent Kompany’s new-look Burnley team, a better season beckons for Dara O’Shea, John Egan and Enda Stevens will be mainstays at Sheffield United while the dynamic of Championship newcomers Rotherham United revolves around Chiedozie Ogbene.
We can expect to see plenty of Nathan Collins at Wolves despite Kenny downplaying presumptions around the security of Ireland’s newly-crowned most expensive player.
Shane Duffy might share Kelleher’s concern, a predicament they both have time to untangle from by engineering switches before the deadline closes on August 31. The scenario for Duffy is dissimilar, for he’s entering the last season under contract at Brighton and Hove Albion.
“I got the impression come the end of the season that Shane might move but Brighton have sold a couple of defenders,” Kenny observed about the centre-back, whose aerial prowess retrieved draws against Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Serbia – as well as setting Ireland on their way to a vital win in Luxembourg last November.
“I’ve no clarity on that but ideally we would want Shane to be playing – be it at Brighton or elsewhere.”
Duffy’s Brighton teammate Aaron Connolly acted on the memo by recently joining Italian Serie B outfit Venezia for the season. Finding solace in a different country wasn’t motivated purely by football reasons, yet an international comeback for a player out of the picture for almost a year appears to depend on rediscovering his mojo.
“Aaron’s dribbling and turn players inside out – while playing for Brighton and which got him into Mick’s senior squad from our U21s (in 2019) – didn’t seem to be part of his game anymore,” Kenny summarised about Connolly’s demise last year.
“Aaron said he fell out of love for the game. He spoke about his workrate and pressing too but they be rectified. He just needs to find a team to flourish in and that’s not easy.”
Neither is seeing regular action, as a few of Kenny’s favourites can attest.
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