I won’t shy away from tough calls, says Irish boss Kenny
MANAGER HAS BIG DECISIONS TO MAKE ON DUFFY AND COLEMAN’S LACK OF PLAYING TIME THIS TERM
AS the Republic of Ireland players enjoyed ‘a competitive training session’ at autumnal Abbotstown yesterday, UEFA chiefs signed off on the qualification process for Euro 2024 in Croatia.
The format approved by the ExCo has given Stephen Kenny and his squad every motivation to finish their Nations League campaign on the front foot as the difference between coming second and third in their group could be massive.
UEFA has ruled that finishing positions in the Nations League will again determine the 12 teams which participate in the Euro 2024 play-offs, three of whom will progress to the finals.
The difference between now and Ireland’s back-door passage to the Euro 2020 play-offs is that there are 16 teams in League A and 16 in League B, not 12 as before.
It means 12 play-off places to be split among 32 teams, not 24.
And were Ireland to remain third behind Ukraine and Scotland in their Nations League group, there would be no guarantee of a play-off berth.
Instead, they’d need a top-two finish in the regular qualification to be sure of reaching Germany. The Euro 2024 draw takes place in Frankfurt on October 9 where Ireland will be seeded third.
Kenny is desperate to improve on Ireland’s standing and a second Nations
“I wouldn’t be afraid of leaving anyone out”
League win over Scotland on Saturday would be a step in the right direction.
However, a draw or a loss in Glasgow would leave Ireland needing a result against Armenia in Dublin next Tuesday to avoid relegation.
Traditionally, Ireland have done well at this time of the season and Kenny was entitled to feel optimistic as he oversaw training. Almost all his props are in place. However, a trio of his key lieutenants — Séamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and Matt Doherty — are ring-rusty. And Kenny has big calls to make about picking them on Saturday.
Eight years ago, when Ireland were last in Scotland for a competitive game, Martin O’Neill dropped Robbie Keane.
It was a signal that time and tide wait for no player, even if Ireland lost the game 1-0 and Keane was missed. From then, until his retirement after the Euro 2016 finals, Keane knew he was no longer first choice.
And Kenny won’t be opposed to swinging the axe, even against Coleman and Duffy.
‘I wouldn’t be afraid of leaving anyone out. I don’t think I’d be sitting here if that was the case. You always have to make tough decisions,’ he said.
‘They (Coleman and Duffy) are two brilliant people in the group, both had tremendous careers.
‘Both Premier League players. Both are out of their teams at the moment, only seven games into the season. Sure, they’ll get opportunities to get back into Everton and Fulham teams respectively. They’ve been great servants for Ireland. They still have a big part to play for us.’
If the pair were playing regularly, they’d have a case for selection.
As it is, they don’t, and Kenny has to weigh up the risk of playing two senior players who may have to consider moves in January to stay in the Euro 2024 frame.
‘Some of the players in the Premier League if they drop down to the Championship, for example, they would probably play every week.
‘It is a dilemma. Some players can adapt, not play for a while and then put in a big performance.’
The manager’s selection may be influenced by the fact that Duffy was closed down by the Scots in Dublin in June for trying to pass the ball out from the back.
‘We made a couple of big mistakes that could have been punished,’ acknowledged Kenny.
‘We said at half-time “have conviction, don’t get caught again but do it better to show that we really can play from the back”.
‘I thought the players played out from the back really well in the second half, they did a lot better which enabled us to control the game.
‘The commentator on television said “Oh, they got caught in Portugal” but that was seven matches previously. So there were six matches during the interim that we didn’t get caught.’
As he fine-tunes his team, Kenny is delighted that Chiedozie Ogbene, one of the success stories of his reign, is playing
as a centre forward for Rotherham in the Championship after operating as wing-back last season.
Five goals in 11 games for The Millers has fuelled Ogbene with optimism as he seeks to improve on a decent return of three goals in 10 Ireland appearances to date.
The cheery Corkonian is clearly happier at his positional switch.
‘I really enjoy it, up higher on the pitch, I think my teammates like me up there. I can be that outlet for them if we are under pressure. I enjoy going in behind and running at defenders, running towards goal, that’s where I want to be,’ he said.
‘If I continue to chip in with goals I am sure it will help the manager make that decision to play me in that position.’
Ogbene doesn’t hide his ambition to soar for club and country.
‘When I come here for Ireland and see players that have played in the Premier League, and are in the Premier League, I try to learn from them because that’s the destination I want to be in.
‘That’s the ambition. It’s the drive I have. I’m sure no player here wants to just stay where they are. Everyone is pushing. I want to go to the next level. I try to work twice as hard to get a jersey, to even be in the squad first of all.’
Ogbene has earned the right to start at Hampden and Kenny knows it. Others have less cards to flourish.