KENNY WON’T TAKE TALLINN FOR GRANTED

WHILE most supporters will expect Dundalk to advance past Levadia Tallinn in the Europa League next month, one man who will not be taking them for granted is Stephen Kenny.

While the Estonian outfit have beaten an Irish side just once in four attempts, that one victory back in 2004 cost Kenny his job at Bohemians.

A 0-0 draw in Tallinn gave The Gypsies hope of advancing in the return leg at Dalymount but a 3-1 defeat ended their European ambitions as well as Kenny’s Bohs reign.

A member of that Bohs side was Dundalk’s 2002 FAI Cup-winning winger James Keddy, who told The Argus in the wake of last Wednesday’s draw that the scars of that defeat to the Estonians 14 years ago will help ensure there is no repeat this time around.

‘That defeat hurt him because he got sacked after that game,’ said Keddy when reminiscing on his battle with Levadia.

‘He was a young manager then. I think he must have been only 31 or 32.

‘It’s a beautiful place. It’s a lovely little town. We had a 0-0 draw over there but they beat us in Dalymount and beat us well.

‘When you mention the name Tallinn to him I’m sure that reminds him of that. He was harshly sacked as well in my opinion because we were going okay at the time. At the time though with the squad we had we weren’t expected to go out of Europe so quick.

‘He has got sacked in a few jobs, he was harshly sacked at Shamrock Rovers as well, so it’s hard to forget things like that. He is a very grounded person but he has a good squad at the moment so they’ll be expected to win.’

While people will point to Cork City’s 6-2 aggregate victory over Levadia Tallinn last year as proof that Dundalk should be favourites, Keddy – who played 18 matches in Europe throughout his career – says it will not be as straight forward as many people think.

‘I’m sure Stephen knows but I think that will be a hard enough game for him,’ said the three time league winner.

‘I didn’t play in the first leg, I only came on in the second leg but from what I remember out there Ken Oman had played. He was only 20 at the time but he played centre half and was probably the man of the match. Stephen dropped Ken for the next game for Colin Hawkins and Hawks hadn’t played in a month. He had a bad ankle and he probably made a mistake playing Colin because he was at fault for two of the goals.

‘We had an exceptional team at the time at Bohs. We had probably 20 players that were as good as each other. Young Stephen Ward, who went on to play with Wolves and Burnley, was part of that squad as well as Tony Grant, Kevin Hunt, Glen Crowe, Colin Hawkins, Simon Webb, Damien Lynch. These were all top quality players.

‘Realistically I don’t think Stephen expected to get beaten but in fairness to him he still plays very open and goes for games. In Europe it’s totally different than playing here. I think in that game they scored two in the last 20 minutes. In Europe it’s in the last third of the pitch where the difference is. I think mentally they’re just a little bit quicker than what you’d play against at home.

‘Let’s be honest Dundalk have maybe three or four hard games every season and that’s against Cork. The rest of the teams at the moment are very ordinary. Stephen will have a difficult game against them but in fairness to him he never underestimates anyone and he’d be meticulous in his preparation.’

Keddy was full of praise for Kenny, a man he first encountered in the latter’s playing days at Home Farm.

‘I have fond memories of Dundalk even though I was only there for a year. It’s a massive club. People don’t realise how big it is until you’re there.

‘I was lucky enough to play for a few teams outside Dublin and there’s a much better feeling to it. There’s a community spirit like the GAA. Everyone is kind of pointing in the same direction. One thing Stephen is very good at is he’s good at getting a good atmosphere within a group and a town.

‘He did well in Derry as well and it’s no coincidence because that’s a football town as well. He can get everyone behind him and for me his biggest quality is that he’s very good with people. I’ve played with managers who were better on the training ground than Stephen but he was much better than any of the managers I played with in the dressing room. The only one who came close to him was Felix Healy. He’s very good at getting a good atmosphere in a team. He’s a God in Dundalk and a God up in Derry.