Stephen Kenny
Republic of Ireland look to the future
F ollowing the departure of Martin O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane after a run of poor results that culminated in the Republic of Ireland’s relegation to the third tier of the UEFA Nations League, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) wasted no time in handing Mick McCarthy a second term in charge of the national side.
However, the association’s decision to put Stephen Kenny in charge of the under-21 team surprised a lot of people as the FAI has never before appeared to be making any long-term plans for its managers.
Kenny will take charge of the under21s for the upcoming 2021 European Championship qualifiers and in August 2020 the former Dundalk manager will move up and take over the senior team from McCarthy.
The 47-year-old Kenny – who has previously managed Longford Town, Bohemians, Derry City and Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, and Dunfermline in Scotland – admits it was a tough decision to leave Dundalk, where he had six successful seasons.
“Yes, it was hard to leave, particularly with the Champions League seeding that we had for next season,’’ says the Dubliner. “To make the decision to leave it had to be something special, but this job is really special for me.’’
Over the past six years Kenny has transformed the fortunes of Dundalk, who had just avoided relegation from the Premier Division the season before his arrival at Oriel Park. He led the Lilywhites to four championships and two FAI Cup wins, and under his watch they became the first League of Ireland club to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.
Kenny gained a reputation as a meticulous manager during his time at Dundalk, recruiting promising players from smaller clubs. When Dundalk became successful and lost players to British clubs, he was able to slot in replacements who had no difficulty blending into the team’s style of play.
His success at Dundalk didn’t go unnoticed and the FAI’s Dutch-born high-performance director Ruud Dokter has admitted that he was very impressed with Kenny.
“I have followed Dundalk over the years and the way they play,” says Dokter, who previously worked for the Dutch federation. “I have met Stephen many times, and we had discussions, and there was evidence about his philosophy and style of play.
“This is modern football. It’s not Ireland, it’s not me; it’s about how you develop young players.
“And what we do is similar in Germany or France – to educate our young players in a modern way.”
Kenny’s first under-21 game in charge will be against Luxembourg on March 24 and he admits: ‘‘Between now and the end of March I will be checking on all the available players in the League of Ireland, England and Scotland.
“We have a very poor record at under-21 level up to now and it’s going to be very difficult to qualify as only one country get through. I aim to put that right.’’
One player who could make the breakthrough is Tottenham Hotspur’s 16-year-old striker Troy Parrott.
The Dubliner has already been included in Spurs’ first-team squad and he will no doubt be one of those Kenny will be monitoring closely.