EYE
Kenny: I will pick Irish players based on what I see rather than on ‘big club’ reputations
STEPHEN KENNY insists he won’t be blinded by big club reputations when selecting his under-21s for the Euro qualifiers.
Rather, he will ‘pick with his own eyes’ when settling on his squad for the opening game at home to Luxembourg on March 24.
If he wants to, Kenny could throw the net far and wide to unearth fresh talent at this level. Outside of Ireland and England, there are obvious candidates available to him in Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Holland and Australia to mention but a few.
Ryan Nolan, 19, is at Inter Milan while Ryan Johansson, 17, is with German powerhouses Bayern Munich and confirmed last month that he is committed to playing for Ireland.
Kenny said: “You have to consider everything. What club the player is with won’t determine my decision – I’ll pick with my own eyes and make decisions.” Tottenham’s Troy Parrott (right) turned 17 this week and signed his first professional contract with the Premier League club.
Kenny has again refused to rule out fast-tracking the highlyregarded striker through the ranks for the upcoming campaign.
“He’s a very good player and of course he’s someone to consider,” said the manager who has been to watch him in action for Tottenham’s under-23s.
“We look forward to seeing more of him, but there are other good players. I was at Manchester United-southampton under-23s last Friday night.
“Southampton had five in the team who were eligible for me. And that wasn’t with Michael Obafemi injured, so six really.
“Jonathan Afolabi, Will Smallbone, Will Ferry, Aaron O’driscoll and Thomas O’connor were all playing in that.”
Kenny’s laptop is jam-packed with dossiers on scores and scores of players that tick the box for consideration.
But players closer to home will also enter the equation after he ran the rule over a home-based selection in
Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Irish amateur team.
UCD’S Neil
Farrugia would appear to be the big winner from the three-day get together as
Kenny is a fan.
The former Dundalk boss had named checked the winger as far back as late November on the day he was unveiled at Aviva Stadium. Neil’s a very interesting player - very exciting,” said Kenny. “There’s not too many left footed left wingers who beat their man on the outside now.
“He qualifies for four countries – France, Malta and Spain. He had an approach from Malta but he’s committed, he wants to play for Ireland. “I said to him, ‘I hope I shouldn’t be expecting a call from Didier Deschamps!’”.
Midfielder JJ Lunney, who has joined Waterford from Bohemians, also came in for special mention despite missing this week’s training game with injury.
“I was hoping to see him because he has a chance of being in the full squad,” added Kenny who also spoke highly of Bohs’ Darragh Leahy despite also missing this week. “The squad announcement is early March, so I’ve got a lot to get through over the next four weeks before we finalise it.”