A twist of Lennon
Saints star Jamie’s craving a bit more stability in new era
JAMIE Lennon knows more about managerial upheaval than anyone else at St Patrick’s Athletic, having played under Liam Buckley, Harry Kenny, Stephen O’Donnell, Tim Clancy and Jon Daly.
There was also a caretaker spell under Ger O’Brien, a position which Seán O’Connor currently holds.
‘It’s not my first time. I think it’s my sixth manager in seven years, so maybe I’m the problem!’ quipped the midfielder, who is closing in on 200 firstteam games.
Lennon is backing the club hierarchy under owner Garrett Kelleher to source a replacement for Daly, with former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny favourite to return to the club where his management career began.
‘I trust the club to get someone in quickly and they normally have in the past. I’m sure they will get the right man in,’ said Lennon, who played under Kenny with the Irish U21s in 2019.
In contrast to Rovers, where Stephen Bradley was given time at the helm, the Saints have chopped and changed since Buckley, the last title-winning manager, left in 2018.
‘Ideally, you don’t want to be moving onto different managers every 18 months or whatever it’s been. You want stability and to enjoy playing your football under a manager,’ said Lennon.
When Daly enjoyed the freedom of Inchicore for leading the club to FAI Cup success last November, he seemed set for a long reign. Now, he’s departed and the Saints find themselves in the bottom half of the table, even allowing for a gritty 2-2 draw away to Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.
Where has it gone wrong? ‘I’m not sure. It’s a difficult question to answer. Football is mad,’ said Lennon. ‘A couple of months ago with the Cup final, you’re the hero and we’re all having a great time. ‘Obviously, we have lost some big players which is a part of it, but the squad in there is better than what we’ve shown this season and that’s on us as players. ‘I enjoyed playing under Jon and the way we were trying to play, but as players on the pitch we were underperforming. We have to look at ourselves and try to pick up.’ ‘It’s difficult because you feel you let him down. I really enjoyed playing under Jon and we had some great nights. It was a deflating feeling when the news came out.’
The Saints have struggled for consistency, not helped by a raft of newcomers, some of whom have made less impact than expected. The performances have been indifferent, allowing opponents to take advantage.
‘It’s unfortunate the way we’ve gone through patches of games of losing one after another, rather than a win or draw in between, and that has killed us.
‘But our performances haven’t been good enough compared to other teams. We have to take responsibility for that.’
Against the Hoops, the Saints played very well in spells and went toe to toe with the champs in their own backyard, even if they were indebted to Danny Rogers in goal for ensuring they left with a point.
To rally twice was a sign of the ability and the resilience within the ranks.
‘We had a good reaction, but that’s all it is, a reaction. it’s about the hard work from now on, and trying to put performances in like that every week and trying to climb the table,’ said Lennon.
The Saints welcome Derry City to Richmond Park on Friday, followed by Shelbourne at home on Monday. Ideally, a new manager will be appointed before then, with Kenny the front-runner.