Positive vibes give Gannon belief Dundalk can produce another shock

IF Dundalk are to prevail in Trondheim this evening, they will have to show ambition.

And Sean Gannon knows they have the perfect manager for that mission because Stephen Kenny expects nothing less.

The right-back is in his fourth season at Dundalk and quickly learned about the Kenny way.

“I was kind of just playing safe when I first came in,” explains the Dubliner. “I wasn’t getting forward. And he grilled me, he told me, ‘I didn’t sign you to be a safe full-back’.

“He signed me to go and enjoy myself and express myself and he’s brought out the best in all of his players. He wants expansive, open football although we work hard off the ball to get back into shape. It was music to my ears.”

Kenny tries to stand by those basic principles regardless of the opponent and that’s why the away camp feel they are capable of scoring at least once to surprise Rosenborg. They will never park the bus and that breeds confidence in the dressing room.

“I think the fact that he doesn’t feel inferior to any team at this level, we get that vibe off him and it translates,” says the Dubliner.

“He’ll never tell you don’t do this or don’t do that. It’s always how can your strengths come through and he did say to us on Monday that he wants his players playing on the best stage possible in front of the most people watching. These games bring out the best in him.”

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They brought out the best in some players too. Kenny believes that Rosenborg adapted their tactics last week to counter Gannon’s threat going forward.

The 26-year-old relished every part of Dundalk’s European run and it made a difference to the players on a number of levels. He was gathering the money together for a house deposit so the European bonus was a considerable help although he’s still looking for the right abode.

“Financially, it was beneficial but when you look back on your career, you can look back on occasions and there’s people who still stop you on the street, people who wouldn’t generally follow football who are tuning into these games,” he says.

“There is a financial incentive to it of course but that plays second to being part of the Europa League or Champions League group stages – it’s just a different world.

“You’re playing in massive stadiums around Europe. It’s more the incentive to be a part of it. As a professional, you want to be part of these games and the build-up is brilliant.

“When you retire and finish up, you look back on these occasions and if we were to get a result here it would definitely be one of those to look back on.”