Kenny to keep faith with his current squad
STEPHEN KENNY has admitted that ‘exceptional’ was too strong a word to describe Ireland’s display against Armenia last Tuesday night. Moments after his side’s blushes were spared by Robbie Brady’s late penalty, the Ireland manager was asked for his initial assessment by RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue, and claimed that his team had been ‘exceptional, at times’. Having had a bit more time to reflect on the game, Kenny accepted on Friday afternoon that perhaps he was too generous in that description.
‘I did say in the TV interview afterwards that it was an exceptional performance, which was too strong a word and a word I should not have used.
‘It wasn’t an exceptional performance and I accept that. But there were a lot of very good aspects to the performance that we were pleased with,’ Kenny said.
Among those aspects was Jayson Molumby’s first-half display. Although the West Brom midfielder still needs to work on his discipline, Kenny feels that he showed an ability to fill in the void vacated by the suspended Josh Cullen, whose reputation seemed to grow in absentia on Tuesday.
Over the past 18 months, Cullen has developed into the most important player in this Irish team. His neat and tidy presence around midfield was missed on Tuesday, especially in the second half when Ireland seemed to lose their balance in the centre of the park.
While Cullen’s development under Vincent Kompany, both at Anderlecht and now Burnley, has been a welcome development for Kenny, he admits that the team can’t be too reliant on one player, particularly in midfield where bookings tend to stack up.
‘Josh has cemented his place and become very important. But if he was missing, the concern was who do we have? Jayson Molumby is considered a No.8, an attacking sort of player but, from what we saw from him the other night, he has the qualities to play in that position to give us defensive protection that we need as well as having an ability to pass the ball well,’ the manager felt.
‘So, that is a good plus. We are going to be missing players through injuries and suspensions in the next campaign and if Josh Cullen is missing, I feel Jayson Molumby is a good player to replace him. That is something we gained from the other night.’
This Nations League campaign started with the stated aim of winning the group, so another third-place finish has to be considered a disappointment. But Kenny was keen to accentuate the positives and it is true that his range of options is becoming wider, something that will be needed in the next campaign.
Armenia’s two goals seemed to come from nothing last week, but the worrying aspect was how similar they were to the strikes conceded to Luxembourg and Azerbaijan under Kenny – longrange efforts fired from players in plenty of space outside the box.
‘We have got to not have those situations like the other day where we vacate the middle of the field, like we did for their first goal and left ourselves way open. The second goal obviously was an individual mistake and we just can’t make those. We have to make sure that we don’t concede goals in that period,’ Kenny said
The late reprieve against Armenia and failing to hold on to a lead in Hampden Park have done little to dampen down the noise surrounding the manager.
It means a good start to next year’s Euro 2024 qualifiers is vital.
‘The target is qualification for the Euros. It would be really special for everyone in Ireland, for all the Irish people everywhere. That is what we are trying to build a team towards and most people can see the potential in the team. They can see that there are a lot of good things happening but there are still areas where we need to get better, still. We just have to make sure that by March we improve again.’
With friendlies against Norway and Malta next month, there is an opportunity for Kenny to further expand his options. Will Smallbone and Conor Coventry could make the jump from Jim Crawford’s Under 21s – both play in midfield where Kenny needs more alternatives.
‘I will consider all of that,’ Kenny said when asked about calling up some U21s. ‘I have to think about it, I haven’t really watched the Israel games (for next year’s
Euros, with Ireland having missed out narrowly) yet but I will have a chance to assess that and discuss it with Jim Crawford and his staff.
‘We have to consider a couple of players showing good form but we don’t want too many changes coming in again. It has to be based on merit or players that will improve us. We want an element of continuity going into the European Championship qualifiers.’
And while Kenny didn’t want to repeat himself, he was quietly insistent that there was plenty of quality at his disposal.
‘My job as manager is to maximise the potential of the players we have. That’s my intention. We are evolving. Jayson Molumby looks ready to play for Ireland now. Josh looks really at home. Michael Obafemi is a big plus. We have a lot of talent.
‘Maybe we don’t have the archetypal player in certain positions but it is not something that leaves me worried. I feel there is tremendous effort and collective will in this group. They give everything of themselves and there is a determination to improve again. We know we have to.’