Dissenting factions won’t sidetrack us, vows Kenny
Republic boss happy to put videogate behind him as Qatar quest looms
STEPHEN Kenny knew that the press conference to discuss the World Cup draw was only partially going to be about the World Cup draw.
When the fixture list comes out later today, there will be four months to discuss the merits or otherwise of a pool with Portugal, Serbia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
The initial instinct was that it’s a tough draw, but not insurmountable with Kenny declining to get drawn into what he described as ‘sweeping statements’ while also offering the view that he thinks qualification for Qatar is possible.
Before that, however, Kenny had to break his silence on ‘Videogate’ and the storm that accompanied revelations around his preparations for the friendly with England, an episode which led to hysterical suggestions that his job could be under threat.
An FAI investigation found there was no issue, and the extent to which it was even necessary is a matter of debate.
Goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly is believed to have had a couple of issues around the England game — not specifically related to a video which Kenny described as a ‘ non story’ — but there’s more internal curiosity about how a minor matter grew arms and legs and ended up in the public domain.
It has fuelled the theory that there are forces out there who want to destabilise the new manager for whatever reason.
He didn’t exactly kill that stone dead. All he stated was that he was confident nothing was coming out of the dressing room.
“I don’t think the leaks were... defi ni t el y not i ntenti onally from the dressing room. I think there may be people behind the scenes or elsewhere who want to cause problems for the team or don’t have the best interests of the team, but certainly I have no problem with anyone in the dressing room,” he said.
The referenced to intent was striking, as there’s always a danger that a player’s discussion with an agent or pal could get spun in another direction.
Kenny was directly asked
if he was confident that everybody working for the FAI was behind him but his reply was moreso slanted towards the full support of the board and the dressing room.
Rightly or wrongly, there is a view out there that Kenny’s decision to bring in his own staff in all aspects of the senior set-up — not just in terms of his frontline coaching team — had knocked quite a few noses out of joint.
There was always a risk attached with that. Even prior to November, one didn’t require a detective instinct to link some negativity with factions that are a tad miffed by the manager’s status and desire to implement change. It just stepped up to another level this time around and Chinese whispers steered the rumour mill to curious places, with Kenny forced to contact Darren Randolph to check that he had no plans to retire.
The manager described the whole affair as a ‘distraction’ and clearly holds the belief there were individuals acting out of sight that wanted to pose him difficulty.
His assistants Keith Andrews and Damien Duff were known to be angered by the episode with the FAI investigation played out in public after they gave a statement to the English paper that initially reported the tale.
Kenny says that Kelly will be back in March, adding that the Preston native was ‘done a disservice’ by commentary that suggested he was involved in leaking or complaining.
There was confusion around Kelly’s position in the past fortnight — and we may hear more on this again — but the bottom line really is that the goalkeeping coach’s happiness or otherwise only becomes a talking point when results are disappointing.
When Kenny wakes up on the first day of 2021, he will be Republic of Ireland manager with a full campaign ahead of him and the power to shape the narrative of his tenure.
All of the noise only becomes relevant when you’re not scoring goals or winning matches.
He still feels that the performance in Slovakia was up there with any Irish away display in recent memory.
Other displays were harder to defend. His hope for 2021 is that players will report for duty in March and be allowed to mingle normally and do activities that were out of bounds due to Covid restrictions.
It was an unhappy camp in the sense that boredom and anxiety were brought into the equation by the prevailing situation. Closed doors games mean no atmosphere within a stadium; but the bubble rules also affect the mood back at base.
“I don’t want to have an excuse culture but that’s been what it is,” he continued. “It’s difficult for players, a stressful environment for them to see players going home with Covid.”