STEPHEN’S DAY IN DUBLIN
New Ireland manager is buzzing with anticipation as he prepares for home debut in his own backyard
STEPHEN KENNY has felt the Aviva Stadium tingle and throb with anticipation before games, has witnessed his hometown come ‘alive’ on big match nights. For five FAI Cup finals and a Champions League play-off against Legia Warsaw with Dundalk, Kenny has been pitchside, sleeves rolled up, for some rare aul times.
He loves the great green and white cathedral of Irish football, especially when the place is hopping, and he’d cherish a bumper attendance today to mark his first game as Irish manager at the Aviva.
‘The city becomes alive on match days. It’s a powerful thing,’ he observed yesterday.
‘I’ll be very proud to manage the team tomorrow, absolutely.’
Only the stands, enclosures and walkways will lie empty and silent as the Irish team takes to the combat zone for the Nations League game against Finland, who are perhaps fittingly low-key opponents for this low-key international.
Whether it’s Germany or Gibraltar pitching up by the Dodder, it won’t take away from the significance of this game in Kenny’s career casebook.
To manage the Irish team in your home city is a unique moment, one which Mick Meagan, John Giles, Eoin Hand and Brian Kerr have been privileged to experience. The soft-spoken Dubliner, with the core of tungsten, has travelled a long way since his early days in the meat business.
From moving clubs to moving house with his family, to Inishowen, to Fife, to Dundalk, he has dealt with the ups and the upheavals of a football manager’s career.
Today represents a personal summit for it doesn’t get much bigger than managing the international team in your own backyard.
Maybe Kenny will soar higher; maybe international tournaments will follow, such as the Euros in Dublin next summer, but nothing will erase the moment of his first game on home turf, even one behind closed doors.
And when the national anthem pipes up, and the Irish players turn to the tricolour, Kenny wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t well up a little and reflect on how far his journey has taken him.
He will gather himself quickly for there is a match to be played. Points are at stake in the Nations League, and places in the first XI too ahead of the Euro 2020 playoff in Slovakia next month.
Already Kenny has half an eye on Bratislava, for the endgame of the playoffs offers membership of an elite club of Irish managers, alongside Jack Charlton, Mick McCarthy, Gio
SENSE OF PLACE: vanni Trapattoni and Martin O’Neill.
It will play a part in his thinking this evening as he seeks to balance a continuity of selection and strategy while availing of the fresh legs available to him.
One player unlikely to figure from the start is Seamus Coleman, who has been edged out for the No 2 jersey by Matt Doherty.
So is Coleman still Kenny’s captain? ‘Without question,’ he replied. Even though he’s not playing? ‘Without doubt he’s still the captain. He’s one of the great Irish captains and a terrific player.
‘Matt Doherty has had a rich vein of form and sometimes an exceptional vein of form has to be rewarded. These are marginal decisions, when you get two good players in the position. There are circumstances when both can play, but sometimes you have to make marginal calls and that was it.’ Should the captain not be on the pitch?
‘Not nowadays. It’s quite common at most clubs where there is a club captain who doesn’t always play. They play a number of games.
‘We hope to have a very high number of games next year and I’m sure Seamus will play in a lot of them. That’s the way I see it.’
And the way Kenny sees it is what counts. He was fairly content with the performance against Bulgaria where Ireland had lots of the ball but didn’t make as much of it as Kenny demanded, and ultimately needed a last-gasp Shane Duffy header to bag a point.
‘What we need to do is make sure that some of our players have more penetration and that we pass the ball penetratively. You should only go backwards or sidewards as your last option. You should always look forward first,’ he said.
In terms of his system, there will be ‘no tricking around’ this evening.
‘You need to have a consistency in the way you are playing, rather than chopping and changing, otherwise you can’t really evolve.’
A flat back four will remain in place, with Doherty and Enda Stevens first choices at full-back, and Kenny demanding they build up a rapport and be aware of over-committing in attack. ‘Their starting position can be high because they are used to playing in a back five, but they are intelligent, experienced players
‘Although all four players individually played well (against Bulgaria), defensively we have to be more cohesive as a unit because on the counter-attack there were gaps. It’s something we have to be cognisant of and improve on,’ he said.
James McCarthy will continue to anchor midfield for all the big games, with Kenny predicting his
‘I WILL BE VERY PROUD TO MANAGE THE IRELAND TEAM IN DUBLIN’
influence will grow. ‘James is an exceptional player, he’s got a brilliant range of passing, he’s got every pass you need but also offers protection to the back four. He reads it so well and he’s quick.
‘He’s in pre-season, so you have to manage James as well. You have to be aware of that.’
Another player who needs nurturing as he seeks international rehab and a return to the glory days of Euro 2016 is Robbie Brady, an option to start today.
‘Robbie is a terrific talent. He’s just not played much football and that can erode your spirit. When you don’t play for a season and a bit that affects your physical condition and how you feel about yourself.’
As Stephen’s Day falls early, it’s time for more passing tales and glory. No is ever too old to hear new football chimes.