WE WILL PLAY AGAIN IN ‘20

TRAINING Kenny puts his players through paces last night

STEPHEN KENNY is confident that tonight’s clash with Finland won’t be Ireland’s last game of the year.

Clubs are increasingly anxious about releasing their players for next month’s internationals amid soaring Covid cases around Europe. Ireland’s own squad has been hit by two positives, another among FAI support staff as well as a false positive.

In November, the Boys in Green are due to play Bosnia in a friendly before Nations League games away to Wales and home to Bulgaria. And while Kenny knows that clubs are on edge, he expects the international window will go-ahead.

“I don’t think (the Finland game) will be the last. It’s difficult to be certain. But in life there are challenges and society must exist,” he said.

“You must try to overcome hurdles in your life or in society, I think that’s important. “History has taught us that. It’s thrown up many challenges throughout the ages and we’ve always had to overcome obstacles. “Sport is an important part of life and people need something to look forward to. The Irish national team are very important within Irish sporting life. Hugely important. “It’s the pinnacle of sporting life in Ireland, the Irish national football team, along with other sports. But it’s a very special place in the hearts of the Irish supporters.”

But Kenny refused to delve into the timeline surrounding the second confirmed Covid-19 case in the squad.

That player tested positive on Monday morning but re-tested negative in the afternoon. Another re-test late that night returned a positive that ruled him out of the Helsinki trip.

But FAI frustration at the UEFA-RUN testing process had been simmering so Kenny was asked if he had faith in the system.

In Bratislava, an FAI staffer tested positive by UEFA’S outsourced company.

It meant that Adam Connolly and Adam Idah, as close contacts having sat behind the individual on the plane, were ruled out of the play-off.

But both are available tonight because the FAI staffer and his close contacts were deemed free of quarantine after he returned a false positive in a subsequent FAI test back in Ireland.

In Helsinki, Kenny said: “It’s hard to believe that we lost two players for the play-off because of a false positive.

“If it was a Dutch player, they wouldn’t have a problem because their rules are 1.5m, if it was in England, there wouldn’t have been a problem.

“Our rules, the HSE rules are much more stringent than anywhere else in Europe. We have to abide by the law and that’s what the medical department did.”