Kenny admits Ireland exit is 'quite possible'

The one-nil defeat brings their Euro qualification campaign to a close, with just a friendly against New Zealand left until the manager's contract ends.

Sat, 18 Nov, 2023 - 22:48

Shane Donovan

Stephen Kenny's Republic of Ireland side limped towards the final whistle of a drab affair in Amsterdam on Saturday night.

The one-nil defeat - likely to be Kenny's last competitive fixture in charge of the national team - brings their Euro qualification campaign to a close, with just a friendly against New Zealand left until the manager's contract ends.

On the chances of his weekend in Amsterdam being his last foray out of the country as Ireland boss, Kenny admitted it was "quite possible".

"I really don’t know," Kenny remarked. "I don’t control that. It’s quite possible. I don’t know.

"But all I can say is I see the effort tonight and high level of skill, bravery. It wasn’t enough and Holland were better than us."

Kenny continued: "What’s the alternative? Defend deep and try and see it out? They will break you down anyway. We tried to create chances at home by pressing higher. They caused us problems tonight when they played through our press.

"But the players were courageous in and out of possession and fought until the end."

With wins against minnows Gibraltar accounting for their only points of the campaign, Kenny spoke of the difficulty of beating the world's top teams.

"Holland are world class and one of the top teams in Europe with players at the best clubs," Kenny said. "We played them twice - nothing in the game in Dublin and tonight they had a lot of chances and we relied on last ditch defending and Gavin (Bazunu) in goal.

“The reason Ireland have never beaten a tier-one team in our history in an away game is because it’s bloody hard. That’s why all the great ([Irish) teams haven’t managed it. When you come to places like Holland, it’s a tough game. I salute my players as they wanted the ball in all areas and put their body on the line.

"The players were very brave and played very well for long periods. We made mistakes in possession and nearly got punished."

Prior to Kenny's conversation with RTE's Tony O'Donoghue, Matt Doherty - captain on the night - backed his manager to stay on beyond his contract end.

"I hope that is not the case," Doherty said on the possibility of Kenny contract not being renewed. "Like I said before, this group needs to be coached well and that’s exactly what we’ve been getting for a long time.

"I hope he stays on. After the game there was a lot of disappointment, we were talking about the little things which are the difference between getting results and not getting results.

"Going back to Stephen, I’ve always backed him, he’s always backed me. I’d love to see him and all the the staff stay. If people really saw what it’s like on the training pitch, in the changing room, how he cares about his players, and how they set us up, the attention to detail, you’d be hard pressed to find someone else to deliver that."

When told of Doherty's view on the matter, Kenny responded.

"I don’t think it’s just for me, it’s for the whole environment and legal of professionalism with all the staff, not just a personal one for me.

"We have rebuilt a team over the last couple of years because it was needed. The alternatives were players who moved down the divisions. There is a massive deficit in Irish football."