A DIFFERENT LEAGUE
It’s been a tumultuous 48 hours for football in Ireland — but Kenny knows what’s at stake
OUTSIDE Aviva Stadium at noon yesterday were a flotilla of red removal vans emblazoned with the words, ‘We will compete, we will succeed.’
Perhaps Stephen Kenny noticed them on his way in. Either way, he would like his Irish teams to compete and be successful after formally exchanging club for country.
In his first reply yesterday, the Dubliner indicated his long-term ambitions, not just for Ireland’s Under 21s and a two-year stint as senior manager after Mick McCarthy, when he spoke about being ‘here for the next four years and beyond, I hope.’
For the 47-year-old, the opportunity to manage his country is ‘something you cannot turn down and something that has to be grabbed.’
The second unveiling of an Ireland manager in less than 24 hours came against the backdrop of breaking news from the IRFU that Joe Schmidt was standing down next summer, to be replaced from within by Andy Farrell.
The rugby boys have a different take on a succession strategy as Farrell currently works under Schmidt, whereas Kenny will steer clear ‘of Mick’s domain’, starting this Sunday when he will avoid the Euro 2020 qualifying draw in Dublin.
This was a low-key introduction for Kenny, which probably suited him.
John Delaney, the FAI chief executive, was marked absent on UEFA duty while there were fewer members of the FAI board of directors than there had been on Sunday.
Unlike McCarthy, Kenny had no wing-men like Terry Connor or Robbie Keane to flank him in the room, which was understandable as his elevation to the FAI payroll was only decided on Saturday.
With no game until March, Kenny has time to get his feet under the table, although his first gig as manager will be to attend the 2021 Euro U21 qualifying draw on December 11.
Already, he knows he will be unlikely to see that qualification through as the final games take place in September and October of 2020, by which time he will be installed as 16th manager of Ireland, including caretakers.
His official stint after McCarthy kicks in on August 1, 2020 but that could be fast-tracked should McCarthy fall short of a top-two finish in the regular qualification and suffer elimination in the Euro play-offs in March 2020.
For all the talk of what might happen if McCarthy is successful, there is also the possibility of failure, which could see him ushered out in 16 months’ time.
Kenny played a smart game yesterday as he refused to clarify whether he had dug his heels in when the FAI first offered him the U21 job and demanded guarantees on the senior front or else the deal was off.
Reading between the lines, that appears to have been the case and Kenny’s dogged stance has contributed to the FAI’s unprecedented commitment of appointing, on the same day, the next two senior team managers.
Asked if the senior job as Ireland manager was merely a promise, or confirmed in his contract, Kenny revealed: ‘In August 2020, I’m taking over and that has been decided. It’s in writing.’
At that point, there was an interruption when the Google Maps app on one journalist’s mobile phone announced: ‘You have arrived.’ Kenny certainly has.
His journey has been an unlikely one, as a decent underage career didn’t kick on, but rather management beckoned.
This reporter interviewed Kenny 20 years ago when he was at Longford Town and was impressed by the earnestness and soft-spoken desire to improve himself and his teams.
All along, Kenny has done that, at Longford, Bohemians, Derry City and Dundalk. There was a blip at Dunfermline, where he still reached the 2007 Scottish Cup final and an unfulfilled stint at Shamrock Rovers.
Along the way, Kenny collected trophies, produced fine teams with players who would progress to play at senior international level, and had his Euro passport stamped more than any Irish club manager.
He’s not far off a half-century in European games now, which is more than any member of the current Ireland senior squad has played, and that will count in terms of dressing room credibility.
‘I’ve had 46 Champions League and Europa League games. European football is probably the best preparation you can get for international football,’ he said.
Kenny will also keep a watching brief on all Irish underage teams, which is a brief that has been needed for some time and must be maintained as soon as Kenny moves to ‘the A job’, as Delaney calls it.
For all that his time with the U21s may be less than 18 months, Kenny knows who’s out there, as he rattled off around 10 League of Ireland players who were born in 1998 or later and are eligible for selection.
This FAI strategy is a step into the unknown which may backfire or may blossom. But McCarthy and Kenny each has the means, motive and opportunity to succeed.
They may not know each other well, may possess contrasting CVs and personalities, but they are working-class men, long consumed by the magnetism of football.
Kenny has certainly got the tougher half of the double-act as the 2022 World Cup is a far harder code to crack than the Euros — 13 teams go through compared to 24.
The World Cup qualifying draw takes place in Qatar next July. While McCarthy will be manager, Kenny has to be there too. No doubt, the FAI have thought all this through.