Could it be too much, too soon for Kenny?

MANY years ago, two career roads diverged in the yellow wood for two Tallaght lads, Robbie Keane and Stephen Kenny.

Today it is Kenny, who took the road less travelled, the one which was grassy and wanted wear, who holds the high ground in Irish football.

Confirmed as Republic of Ireland manager on April 4, he has all his backroom props in place, and is preparing for a demanding eight-game autumn schedule involving two competitions, the Nations League and Euro 2020. Not only that, he has been appointed to the FAI executive as the International Football Director, a first for any Irish manager.

At 48, his influence on all Irish international teams is wideranging, powerful and absolute.

As for his fellow Tallaght native Keane, the question is: what now?

In a perfect world, which he has inhabited for much of his sporting and personal life, Reliant Robbie would be buzzing in Bilbao this morning, building up the Republic of Ireland lads before the final group game against Spain in the Euro 2020 finals.

Instead, he’s out of work on the double.

First, the coronavirus scuttled the Euro play-offs and with it Robbie’s dream of standing alongside Mick McCarthy at the Aviva Stadium, chests out for the national anthem.

Overlooked for a role under Kenny, Robbie has now paid the price for Middlesbrough’s meandering season in the lower reaches of the Championship.

A 3-0 home loss to Swansea on the resumption of the league was a bridge too far for Boro owner Steve Gibson. Manager Jonathan Woodgate was replaced by Neil Warnock and Keane, out of contract at the end of the season, left the club with immediate effect. To lose one job might be considered unfortunate, to lose two in 10 weeks is akin to the carelessness Oscar Wilde spoke of.

While he remains under contract to the FAI until 2022, thanks to the generosity of former FAI CEO John Delaney, Robbie won’t be seen in an Irish training top around Abbotstown, won’t be joining in any games, not while Kenny is calling the shots.

And that could be for some time, following Kenny’s nomination as International Football Director by the FAI hierarchy.

The manner of the appointment has raised eyebrows in football circles as Kenny has been elevated, presumably with the approval of the board of directors, without the post being advertised.

Had it been, then the likes of Packie Bonner and Brian Kerr, among others, could have made their pitch for a position suited to their credentials.

Was that proper governance in these politically correct times?

With Kenny’s ally, Ruud Dokter, continuing as High Performance Director, it raises questions as to the remit of each director, their terms of reference and who reports to whom?

Michael O’ Neill became Chief Football Officer for Northern Ireland in February 2018, by which time he’d been the senior international manager for six years with a proven track record.

Kenny may well be the right man as International Football Director but it might have made more sense to see how he adapts to his Republic of Ireland role first before thrusting greater responsibility on his shoulders.

If the Nations League and Euro 2020 play-offs go badly for Kenny – and no one wants that – there would be external pressure on his position as manager.

Where would that leave him? Would he have an input on the next Irish manager if deposed from the job?

Elevating Kenny to a new slimline FAI Executive when there is a recruitment process underway for a new full-time CEO of the Association appears an unnecessary fast-track.

WHAT if Owens doesn’t land the top job and the new CEO has different ideas on how the FAI should be run? And if Owens is confirmed as permanent CEO, why not anoint Kenny then?

From this remove, the senior figures in the FAI, chairman Roy Barrett, Owens, and deputy interim CEO Niall Quinn, are in thrall to Kenny. Already, there is talk of the 2022 World Cup campaign for Kenny, and beyond.

Kenny may well be the cure to Irish football’s ills.

He may oversee and implement a way of playing for all Irish teams that is pleasing to the eye and rewarding on the pitch.

There could be major finals to come and a defined Irish way of playing. Only nothing is certain in football as Robbie Keane knows.

In Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ the traveller laments how ‘sorry’ he is that he ‘could not travel both’ roads in the woods.

After a long journey in management, Kenny finds himself in two specialised and vitally important jobs, as Irish team manager, and International Football Director.

Too much too soon for one man? We shall see.