This Az to be better says boss

STEPHEN KENNY is confident of securing his first competitive win this evening – but only if Ireland learn their lessons and ‘earn their goals’.

The manager has just one victory – in a friendly against lowly Andorra – in 16 games and World Cup qualification is already gone.

With three games remaining, Kenny feels the Boys in Green can finish this campaign with a mini flourish – starting here in Baku.

But he warned that

Azerbaijan will be no pushovers having taken the lead in

Dublin (right) before conceding an equaliser late on. Serbia needed a late winner (2-1) here in March.

Kenny said: “They are comfortable in short spaces in keeping possession but without necessarily penetrating. They did not penetrate us as such.

“In the first 15 minutes of the Dublin game we probably missed a couple of good chances – Aaron Connolly, Adam Idah and then Seamus Coleman had a great chance.

“But we had periods then when they kept the ball easier than they should have, so we have to have a more cohesive out-of-possession plan.

“We obviously need to improve on what we did.

“They defend in a block of eight – a back five with a three in front. We had to go around the sides and got a lot of crosses in, but we didn’t take a lot of them.

“But we need to play through teams better than we did, but it’s difficult to do that when a team is camped in.

“You can’t be giving teams a start like that because they weren’t a threat to our goal at all up to their goal.”

And Kenny added: “We are improving a lot of the stuff we are doing. I think we need to get better and try and get that win.

“We watched the other games that were here and they don’t give you anything easily, they get back quickly.

“They get bodies back behind the ball really quickly. Those eight always get back really quickly and defend their goal really well. You have to earn your goals.

“But we learned lessons from the Azerbaijan game I feel. I think we’re well capable of winning.”