Dion Fanning: Stephen Kenny can’t save Irish football, nobody can

Kenny’s bravery in trying to change everything will benefit Irish football. It is now time to be wary of hacks promising short-term salvation by changing only results.

Ireland's Adam Idah dejected. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

When Stephen Kenny was announced in November 2018 as the man who would lead the Irish national team from the start of the 2020-21 season, the arrangement spoke to the dysfunction at the FAI.

Mick McCarthy was back as manager, the football man who would command respect in the dressing room. But his successor was also named: Stephen Kenny, a progressive and enlightened voice who would take over from McCarthy after the 2020 European Championships.