Kenny revels in Irish excitement

STEpHEn KEnny insists Hampden park will witness a Republic of Ireland side with ‘a new identity’ when they face Scotland.

Steve Clarke’s men shot to the top of Group B1 in the nations League with an impressive 3-0 home win over Ukraine in midweek but they were well beaten when they lost 3-0 in Dublin in June.

Republic boss Kenny believes his side are exciting the Irish fans who travel — officially there will be 3,000 in green and white at the national stadium — and those back home.

The former Dunfermline manager, speaking at Hampden where he revealed no injury concerns ahead of tonight’s clash, said: ‘It’s a great occasion with a Hampden full house.

‘It is a very special game and both sets of players are looking forward to it.

‘Scotland had a good win on Wednesday and we respect that, but we have played well in our last few games.

‘This is a new Ireland with a new identity. We have given 16 players their international debut in 18 months and the style of play is something the Irish public are connecting with in a major way, right throughout the country. Wherever we go, we are inundated with people who connect with this team, the mixture of youth and experience. ‘We had to suffer with some results in the rebuilding process, but we have sold out the Aviva, 44,000, for the Armenia game on Tuesday already. ‘That gives you an indication of the level of support in the country. people are excited by the team.’ Kenny (pictured) insists he will not be dwelling on the win over Scotland but believes his side have the potential to get even better. He said: ‘This is a different challenge, a new challenge. ‘We feel we can improve on aspects of our performance against Scotland in June. We are continually striving to improve, we are not at our full potential.’