Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We’ll talk to players on racism
Long was the way for Kenny that led up to light
STEPHEN KENNY will discuss with his Ireland players if they want to take a knee together in Sofia in his first game in charge against Bulgaria on September 3. Premier League teams have made the protest at the start of every game since the resumption in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said last week the organisation must do more to fight racism. When the squad’s narrowed down we can have discussions about any issue,” said the new Republic manager. “We haven’t been on group calls together (on Zoom) to discuss it, we’ve been on individual calls. “You have to be open to listen to players’ ideas to all of that.” Ireland will play at the Vasil Levski Stadium where England players were racially abused in a Euro 2020 qualifier last October.
THAT Stephen Kenny has come so far in management is there in the difference between his first and his latest trip to Sofia.
He was 28 back in 2001 when he took Longford Town into Europe for the first time.
A chartered Balkan Airlines flight failed to arrive following a day of waiting and while the squad eventually made it on two separate flights, getting there just before the UEFA deadline, half the supporters travelling couldn’t make it.
“There was all of that,” said Kenny this week. “Listen, it was one of those situations.” When the midlanders finally got to the Bulgarian capital, a long bus trip took them to Lovech and a UEFA Cup second leg clash with the team backed by the local Litex oil company.
“They had a lot of Bulgarian internationals,” recalled Kenny. “It went right down to injury time in the second leg, it was in the balance. “But anyway, we missed a couple of chances.” Fast forward close on 19 years and nothing will be left to chance as new Ireland boss Kenny and his squad depart for Sofia on September 1 - for the players’ first international since November and Kenny’s first at senior level.
No wonder nostalgia is not his bag right now.
“Not really, no,” laughed the 48-year-old when asked by MirrorSport if it feels like he has come full circle.
“No, that’s just the way it was. From my point of view, we’re going to Bulgaria, it’s the Nations League and the Nations League is an opportunity.
“I know people haven’t fully grasped it because it was a new competition. But to watch the final stages of that was amazing, really, in Portugal (in June of last year).
“The joy they showed winning it, the games themselves, with England and Holland, and Switzerland and Portugal in the semifinals, they were amazing.
“With the four team group you’ve got an opportunity and it affects your World Cup seeding.
“If you win the group, you could be in a World Cup play-off - and we haven’t been in a World Cup since 2002. “If you win the group, you could go into the A League possibly, which would be all the top nations coming here.
“The World Cup play-off is a big thing, the World Cup seeding is a big thing. We want to get to major championships, the World Cup is important and the Nations League is important for those reasons.”
Kenny and his new coaching staff that includes Damien Duff and Keith Andrews have been scrutinising all of Ireland’s upcoming opponents - Bulgaria, Finland and Wales in the Nations League, Slovakia in the Euro finals play-off on October 8 - with a fine toothcomb.
The Dubliner is taking a first things first approach as he looks to get his team playing his way with such a short preparation time before heading to Sofia.
“Bulgaria is our first game but they didn’t have a great campaign last year. They went through a few managers,” Kenny said.
“The new manager (Georgi Dermendziev) came in and had a great result, beat the Czech Republic in a qualifier and looked to have them really well organised.
“But it’s my first game, we want to go over there and try and get a victory.
“That’s the way I’m looking at it. I’m not going to be nostalgic and say I started in Bulgaria.
“I’m sort of saying, ‘I’m being professional’.
“I’m saying, ‘What an opportunity for this group and hopefully we can do well in it’.”