Analyst Spain has done all his homework on the Israelis
SOCCER EUROPA LEAGUE
STEPHEN Kenny rightly receives much of the acclaim for transforming Dundalk’s fortunes since taking the job at Oriel Park, but he couldn’t have done it without the support of his management team.
The input of people like Vinny Perth and the other coaching staff, Graham Byrne (strength and conditioning) and the physios has been a big part of the Lilywhites’ success, and another important appointment he made back in February 2013 was his assistant manager.
Gerry Spain mightn’t be a name that’s too familiar to even the staunchest Dundalk supporter, but he has spent the last three years criss-crossing Ireland and jetting all over Europe in his chief role of opposition analysis.
And judging by Dundalk’s success - two Premier Division titles, an FAI Cup, an EA Sports Cup and progression to the group stages of the Europa League - Spain has got his information just about spot-on!
It’s been a demanding role, combining a full-time day job with family commitments and his Dundalk work that has seen him travel to Luxembourg, Croatia, Belarus, Iceland, Poland and the Netherlands over the past two years, with a trip to St Petersburg to check out Zenit in the pipeline also.
This week, though, it’s all about Maccabi Tel-Aviv and already Kenny and his players have been brought up to speed on what to expect in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday night - even though an unfavourable fixture list made it impossible for Gerry to travel out to Israel.
‘I was meant to go to Israel at the weekend, but their game was on Sunday, so it didn’t give us enough time because we were meeting with the players that day,’ Gerry explained, ‘so Stephen has got a contact out there who was doing the game on Sunday for him.
‘But I watched the Zenit game [against Maccabi] on Wednesday night and by Saturday I had watched five of their matches, so I have a good bit of information.
‘We did the presentation to the players on Sunday and I gave a lot of information to Stephen on Saturday so he had 24 hours after the Derry City game to get prepared for the meeting on Sunday.
‘Stephen treats every team the same and he was completely focused on Derry. He didn’t even think about Maccabi or Zenit or anyone else until after Friday night - his philosophy is that it’s all about the next game.’
Spain saw the good and bad sides of Maccabi against Zenit two weeks ago, watching them storm into a 3-0 lead before disintegrating in the last 14 minutes and eventually losing 4-3, having been reduced to 10 men.
A second consecutive defeat would make it extremely difficult for Shota Arveladze’s team to progress to the knockout stages, and so their need for a result should make for a hugely entertaining game - especially if Dundalk can score first and force the Israelis to chase the game.
‘Maccabi have had a player sent off like ourselves, so they have to deal with getting a new right-back in for Eli Dasa who was sent off,’ said Spain.
‘They are a very hard-working team. Against Zenit they dropped off more or less to the half-way line, but then they really pressed in a sort of Jurgen Klopp really high-tempo style, with three or four lads pressing, and I’m expecting that we’re not going to have the same time on the ball as we had against Alkmaar.
‘The player I like is the right winger Tal Ben Chaim. They’ve obviously got a few names - Ben Haim, the centre-back who used to be at Bolton and Chelsea, and Yossi Benayoun - but the number 11 Tal Ben Chaim is the one that has caught my eye.
‘But I’ve got no problems with Dane Massey being able to deal with this guy.’
At this stage Stephen Kenny puts his trust in Spain without hesitation, but it took time for the assistant manager to earn that respect.
‘Stephen was a little bit worried about his appointment at the start because some of my information on players, maybe renowned League of Ireland players who I wouldn’t have known, and the comments I made on some of them surprised him a little bit which I think unnerved him.
‘A lot of players were maybe playing on reputations and maybe I wasn’t riding on the waves of reputations. I was calling it as I saw it, which I think surprised him a little bit because he brought that up a couple of times as our relationship developed.
‘But to be still in the job, I probably got it right more often than not, and the pleasing aspect is like two week ago in Holland when, between myself and [firstteam coach] Vinny Perth, we had everything covered. They didn’t surprise us with anything. The players knew the opposition inside out, and when you’re watching the game you are just delighted that they play that team, play that formation, the players play like you said it and the set pieces go to plan.
‘But the most rewarding thing is not necessarily the success but the players. Their attitude, their work ethic, their manners in terms of how they deal with everybody, they are always receptive to what we say, they are always mannerly and they are always great with the kids. Patrick McEleney and Stephen O’Donnell were out at my kids’ school and they stayed two hours signing everything from books to runners to crisp packets and they were happy to do it.
‘Don’t get me wrong. It’s brilliant to be involved in success, but the players are a special group and you’re prepared to do anything to help them.
‘I owe a great deal of gratitude to my wife also because Jenny has been very supportive in terms of me being away a lot, so she’s been a big part of the success story.’