Kenny is ‘upbeat’ over his new deal

STEPHEN KENNY insists there are ‘no issues’ with the financial element of his talks with the FAI on a new contract as Republic of Ireland manager but revealed there were still ‘one or two things’ to be resolved.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio yesterday, Kenny was upbeat that an extension would be signed off sooner rather than later.

‘Listen, talks are ongoing. I’ll sure we’ll come to an agreement,’ he said. ‘Certainly, (there are) no issues with finance or anything like that. One or two things we (still) have to sort out.’

Kenny’s contract runs until July but the FAI Board have directed CEO Jonathan Hill to open talks on a new deal to cover the Nations League and the Euro 2024 campaign. Asked about his support from within the FAI, Kenny said ‘It’s not an issue at all.’

It’s understood the terms of Kenny’s new deal won’t include a significant rise on his current salary of €540,000, but there would be a hefty bonus for the Dubliner should he lead Ireland to the Euro 2024 finals.

An agreement on severance terms should the new contract not run its full course has yet to be reached. Kenny acknowledged the ‘big step-up’ facing his players against Belgium, the world’s No 1 team, for a friendly in Dublin on March 26, as well as the demands of four Nations League games in 10 days in June.

But a six-game unbeaten run at the end of 2021, five of them in World Cup qualifiers, has given Kenny grounds for optimism.

‘People understand what we’re doing. They know we’ll take risks. They’re excited by watching the team play. They can see the team emerge. People are excited by all these new heroes,’ he said.

‘We had a low point losing against Luxembourg, but we’ve come a long way from that. We’re a work in progress, and we’re getting better,’ he promised.

It remains to be seen if Frank Lampard’s appointment as Everton manager impacts on the availability of Anthony Barry to continue in Kenny’s backroom team.

Barry was brought to Chelsea by Lampard and was kept on by Thomas Tuchel as a specialist coach after Lampard was sacked. Were Barry asked to be Lampard’s No 2, it might cause a problem for his role with Ireland.

Barry has emerged as a key figure since joining Kenny just before the start of the World Cup campaign, in which Ireland fell well short of the play-offs.