IT’S NOW.. OR NEVER

Kenny refuses to look too far into the future

ON the day the Euro 2028 preliminary bid was submitted, Stephen Kenny must have known the question was coming.

Will you be the Irish manager for that tournament, when Dublin could stage up to seven games?

“I’m not looking that far forward,” said Kenny, playing the straight bat as he prepares to face Norway in a friendly tonight in preparation for Euro 2024.

“I’m not looking further than the European Championships and this campaign, to do my utmost to get the team to perform to the best of their ability and try and qualify.

“It’ll be a great event for the country whether I’m manager or not.”

Since succeeding Mick Mccarthy, Kenny has occasionally built a rod for his own back with some of his more bullish predictions in public.

His determination and belief that Ireland can reach new heights has always been admirable but he just hasn’t helped himself at times. There was no chance he was ever going to put his foot in it this time – not ahead of a year that will determine his longevity in this role. But what of his young team? Should they be hitting their peak by the time Euro 2028 rolls around, with games being shared between Aviva Stadium and Croke Park?

Kenny said: “I suppose with the age profile, I see the point of course. But it’s not something I can really focus on, Euro 2028.

“A lot of players’ careers can change so rapidly in that space of time so it’s difficult to predict, to say, ‘This player will be exceptional in 2028’. It’s so far away.

“But there’s a good production line of talent and it’s a credit to all the international managers, the underage ones, who do terrific work and the grassroots clubs who provide them.

“We’re a small country but they’re providing some really good players in recent years up through the ranks and that’s a credit to all the coaching being done at underage.

“We’ve seen it with the emergence of so many players in the first team now. We want the team to improve again and push on.

“And, of course, in 2028 – we spoke about Evan Ferguson coming in for the first time – he’ll be a different player at that time.”

Uncapped Ferguson, 18, will start on the bench against Norway tonight but would become Ireland’s youngest ever scorer if he hits the net in either game this week.

While a friendly is likely to be slotted into the March window as prep for France, Kenny is using these games to fine tune ahead of a make-or-break

Euro 2024 campaign.

Supporters at Aviva Stadium tonight have been denied the chance to see Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland strut his stuff.

But, from an Irish perspective of chasing wins and consistency, there is probably no harm in it either, even if Kenny insists he won’t be changing his game plan either way.

“There won’t be massive changes in the team.

“Norway have a lot of players playing at a good level. The highest profile is their captain, Martin Odegaard of Arsenal, who is an exceptional player.

“They have players in La Liga and other top leagues, so they have shown themselves to be a good team

“It’s an important game in preparation for France.

“Norway are one of the better teams not going to the World Cup.

“These two games are good preparation for us. It’s a chance to get the squad together to get more game time, more training time.

“We want to make sure we hit the ground running when we come in. We want to pick a strong team, we want a strong performance.”