'It’s not something that’s ever discussed' - St Pats chasing glory over financial windfall says Stephen Kenny
EYES ON GLORY: St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny after the UEFA Conference League First Qualifying Round first leg. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Stephen Kenny insists the lucrative €700,000 of prize-money on offer for Conference League progression isn’t consuming his St Patrick’s Athletic side (5pm, Irish time).
The Saints have taken a narrow 1-0 advantage to Kaunas where they meet a Hegelmann side which Kenny believes will be a tougher challenge than they showed last week at Inchicore.
Last year’s run to the playoff round grossed €1.28m for the club in Kenny’s first season back in the domestic league, offsetting the losses owner Garrett Kelleher incurs from millions of investment annually.
Kenny knows all about the commercial reach of success on foreign soil having led Dundalk to the group stage of the Europa League in 2016 that accrued €7m.
Speaking from Lithuania, he was insistent the lure of progression in the competition, where they’d take on the winner of the tie between Nõmme Kalju FC (EST) and FK Partizani (ALB), is paramount.
“It’s not something that’s ever discussed,” Kenny said about the windfall.
"I think it’s the glory and opportunity. Finances are important for every club to be full-time. These are factors.
“Yet the other side of it is we probably had no right to be in Europe having been third from bottom last year when we wouldn’t have got anything..
“Great credit to the players for moving up to third in the table and qualifying for Europe. Now we have the opportunity of going into round two. We need to be positive in our approach rather than worry about the consequences.”
Romal Palmer and Seán Hoare are the only absentees from the Pat’s squad, with last week’s scorer off the bench Aidan Keena, battling for a start.
He would be paired with Mason Melia in a twin-attack after Kenny confirmed their attacking outlook wouldn’t be curbed by defending a first-leg lead.
He dismissed the artificial pitch factor too. That was a surface he was accustomed to over six years at Dundalk and won’t be using it as an excuse should their campaign be curtailed at the first hurdle.
As there’s a small crowd expected, compared to the raucous atmospheres they’ve encountered in the runs of the past two years, Kenny is warning his players to maintain concentration.
“There can be lapses in an eerie atmosphere rather than a high-octane, adrenaline filled occasion,” he noted.
“Our travelling support will be important. They were especially brilliant for us in Vaduz last year.
“It’s the most slender of margins that can change in a minute but it’s better than going level. Also, if you score the first goal, they need three to beat you or two for extra-time.
"There’s a great incentive for us to get the second goal.”
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