Kenny thinks it's 'inexcusable' not enough players are progressing through youth system

END OF THE ROAD: Manager Stephen Kenny during a Republic of Ireland press conference at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

After lamenting a couple of sublime finishes that demoted Ireland’s campaign to disaster, Stephen Kenny admitted this is likely the finish for him.

Wout Weghorst may have been tipped by his critics to trip himself up while charging 50 yards with the ball on Saturday night but his drive into the top corner sent his Dutch to Germany next year.

Likewise, Aurélien Tchouaméni showed his execution prowess by unleashing a left-footer with little backlift to set France on their way to a comfortable 2-0 win in September.

Of course, regardless of the top two’s strengths, losing both fixtures to fourth-seeds Greece constituted the real reason why Ireland failed to be part of the Euro qualification frame from Group B within three months of a ball being kicked.

Kenny was cornered once Gus Poyet had his number on the sultry night in Athens and the long goodbye will finalise next week when the FAI board accept the recommendation of Football Director Marc Canham to hand responsibilities to a new supremo.

“The best teams obviously have an element of continuity and you're working towards that,” he said yesterday when it was pointed out 25 players had started the eight qualifiers.

“People say I’ve had three years in the job but it's a ten games per year sort of situation.

“It sounds like an enormity of time but that's the reality. Success is important and everyone wants to qualify for tournaments. We all want that.

“If we don't, then people aren't going to wait for you. I get that as well. Patience is a virtue, and I understand that.” 

Kenny was renowned for his candid briefings before being promoted to his dream job in 2020 and the clock ticking on his tenure always spiked the likelihood of bizarre takes filling the void vacated by qualification prospects.

Yesterday’s final pre-match briefing delivered on that front, with a not-so veiled barb at his predecessors as well as hitting back at Didi Hamann’s claims of inexcusable behaviour in snaring captain Andy Moran from the Under-21’s Euro qualification tilt this week.

Despite the Dutch mauling Ireland in terms of possession and chances, Kenny resorted to his trademark upbeat spin by plucking historical defeats and flinging them into the conversation.

Macedonia’s 3-2 win sent Mick McCarthy’s Ireland into a playoff for the 1998 World Cup that they lost against Belgium, Steve Staunton’s reign was floored by losing 5-2 in Cyprus while a 4-1 humbling at the hands of Wales was the nadir of Martin O’Neill’s final year of 2018.

"Holland are one of the best teams in Europe. People will have their own opinions on it but I thought it was a good game of football. No question, they were the better team. We fought to the end of that game, know we didn't create enough and defended for our lives.

“It wasn't like we lost 4-1 to Wales or got hammered in Cyprus or Macedonia the other night. It was a tight game in Holland that we lost 1-0 and deserved to lose. I think there should be a bit of perspective on that, you know?"

Some of those who’d walked in his shoes on the Lansdowne sideline have been prominent in the media.

Kenny’s relationship with Brian Kerr, the last previous home-based manager, has soured amid his consistent opinions of exaggerations and favourable treatment by the FAI expressed on Virgin media.

“I think criticism from Brian Kerr or anyone else, it’s not something I really want to get into here and now. I understand the question, but I think today is probably not the day for that,” he said, suggesting his true feelings will emerge when the FAI employment ceases.

That upcoming phase of his life is unlikely to see him share a pundit’s table with Hamann, another ardent sceptic. His latest point contended the FAI ought to have vetoed the Moran elevation for a match in Amsterdam he wasn’t used for while the Under-21s lost in Norway.

“I heard it said that it’s inexcusable I called him up,” Kenny said without mentioning the World Cup finalist’s name. “What’s inexcusable is the fact not many players were progressing through the Irish system for eight years. Now that’s aligned from the Under-15s right to the Under-21s where all the managers are working together to promote the ultimate goal of getting players in the senior team.”