Kenny’s League of Ireland return offers a new yet familiar challenge
AT MIDDAY on Thursday, Stephen Kenny was back on the grass, in a place he knows well: Abbotstown.
It’s the home of the FAI, where the Republic of Ireland senior team trained under Kenny’s management, spanning 40 internationals between 2020 and 2023.
This time, Kenny wasn’t overseeing a squad of players in green but rather one in red, St Patrick’s Athletic, having signed a five-anda-half-year contract worth close to €1million.
No Irish club manager has ever been paid such a sum but Kenny is the prized capture of Garrett Kelleher, the owner of St Pat’s, who has long coveted the Dubliner at the helm of the Saints.
It’s a plus too for the repute of the League of Ireland, already bulging with big names in the management corral, Stephen Bradley, Damien Duff, Ruaidhrí Higgins and John Caulfield among them.
None have managed close to 1,000 games like Kenny, or boast a domestic CV that includes five Premier Division titles, four FAI Cups and six League Cups.
Those honours catapulted Kenny into the Irish job and, following his departure after four underwhelming years, have earned him a lucrative return to the domestic coal-face. Six months on from preparing to face Van Dijk, Gakpo and Weghorst in the Amsterdam Arena, Kenny found himself prepping for Hoban, McEleney and Patching at Richmond Park.
He put his stamp on things immediately. On Thursday, he told the Pat’s players there was time for them to turn things around. Instilling belief has always been a strong point for Kenny.
He implemented his own tactical tweaks and team selection against Derry City on Friday, which was evidence he was very much in charge, although after a narrow 1-0 defeat he acknowledged a run at the title was not practical.
‘I looked at the squad and didn’t feel we would be ready for a title challenge. Realistically, I knew that for sure,’ he said.
‘The squad definitely needs to be improved overall. The only player that has won the league is Chris Forrester back in 2013, so it’s a different profile of squad.
‘It’s completely different when you start pre-season and formulate a squad. I don’t think anyone really expects us to challenge.
‘Shamrock Rovers are very strong squad-wise. Derry have added to their squad. They have a level of continuity. It’s nearly a fourth year for Ruaidhrí (Higgins).
‘Ruaidhrí is a real thinker of the game, very introspective, always wanting to look at the creative elements of the game.
‘That’s what I like about a lot of the new breed of the coaches coming into the league. Their focus is on the creative elements rather than destructive elements.’
Tomorrow, Kenny will be up against leaders Shelbourne, managed by Duff, who worked as a coach with the Irish senior team under Kenny for six months before leaving in circumstances never quite fully explained.
Asked for his thoughts on Duff’s body of work at Tolka Park, Kenny recognised ‘a big improvement this year from the previous two years’ and revealed he and the 100-cap Irish winger kept in touch.
‘Damien would always have texted me before every (Ireland) game. I was at the Dundalk-Shels game pre-season because Eoin [Kenny’s son] was playing and he invited me into his office for a quick chat,’ he said.
Kenny was in better form on Friday night than on Thursday evening when he met the media for the first time as Pat’s manager.
Then, Kenny walked into the club shop, clad in trademark black. Head down, he avoided eye contact with the half a dozen or so journalists present.
Rather than strike an upbeat note, he threw a few barbs. It was a reminder of the pettiness that was evident during his final year as Ireland manager.
Kenny was less than charitable towards Brian Kerr, a legend of St Pat’s and also a former Ireland manager, which was unnecessary and may have contributed to Kerr not attending the game on Friday night.
He also accused me of being Kerr’s press officer for the past four years, which was ironic given the presence of some of Kenny’s own press champions in the room.
I’ve nothing against Kenny, and admire many of his qualities, but I stand over my analysis of his Ireland reign. At times, it was shambolic, a word he took exception to.
He insists the Republic of Ireland vacancy ‘is a really good job now’, overlooking the world rankings nosedive from 34th to 62nd on his watch after six wins in his 29 competitive games, five of them against Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Gibraltar (twice).
Today, Kenny is no longer an outof-work international manager; he’s an employed League of Ireland manager again. And a very well-paid one at that.
Even so, the difference in status is significant and it’s something Kenny will have to get used to. The services St Pat’s enjoy at Abbotstown are a step up from their previous facility in Ballyouster but there is no manager’s office, no equipment room, no kit room.
This is the hardscrabble world of the League of Ireland – while players are fitter and crowds are bigger these days, facilities, on many levels, are still basic.
Kenny won’t be flying to games. It’s back on the bus for long-haul trips, like the ones Derry City have this weekend, with trips to Dublin on Friday and again tomorrow.
Kelleher is armed with a blueprint for revolution at St Pat’s, ahead of the club’s centenary in 1929.
As soon as the local and European elections are out of the way, the club will submit planning permission for a new-look Richmond Park, a wraparound 12,000-seater stadium, complete with corporate hospitality.
The plan is for rickety old ‘Richer’ to be replaced by a swanky new arena, with Kenny as the knight in shining armour.
That’s the vision Kelleher sold to Kenny, along with off-season tours to the United States, where having a former Ireland manager and a team called St Patrick’s offers entry into a potentially rewarding market.
These are exciting times for the club but, in return, Kenny has to deliver.
Unlike his spells at Longford and Dundalk, the expectations at St Pat’s are higher, akin to his appointment at Shamrock Rovers, where he didn’t see out the 2012 season.
This season still has much to offer. The Saints are five points off a top-four position. They have the FAI Cup defence to prepare for, and are targeting going further in the Europa Conference League than last year.
Next up are Shelbourne tomorrow. Then it’s Bohemians at Dalymount on Friday.
The League of Ireland is a relentless 36-game grind. Kenny knows it better than most.
‘INSTILLING BELIEF HAS ALWAYS BEEN A STRONG POINT FOR KENNY’