MATT: WE’LL BACK BOSS

MATT DOHERTY wants the FAI to back Stephen Kenny and his staff for the long term.

And the Tottenham defender (above) believes that feeling is shared among “a lot of the players” in the Ireland squad.

Kenny is under contract until July but the FAI board will meet next month to review the World Cup campaign and discuss whether to keep him on for Euro 2024.

But the manager could do with a win in Azerbaijan this Saturday before closing out the campaign against Portugal and Luxembourg next month.

Speaking to Irish Football Fan TV, Doherty said: “For me, and I know I probably speak on behalf of a lot of the players also, we have full faith and full commitment and backing in what they are trying to do.

“We hope they are there for a long time because we get coached wonderfully well.

“We enjoy going there because we get coached really well by the manager, Anthony Barry and Keith Andrews (inset).

“It’s always more enjoyable when the training is good and you’re having a good time there.”

The Ireland squad met in Dublin last night and will train this afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s flight to Azerbaijan.

Doherty continued: “If you saw the way we were in camp, the way we were run, the way we were set up, the way we were coached, if there was a camera there, there would be no problem from anybody with how things were going.

“We know it’s a results business but when I look back at all of the games that the manager’s had, I know it’s easy to say because we haven’t won, but there’s a lot of games in there where we played good football and didn’t deserve to lose.”