The Dundalk football club have extended their best wishes to Stephen Kenny after he was officially appointed the Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager on Monday.
Kenny steps into the new role after overseeing much success during his time in charge of Dundalk, which yielded four league titles in five seasons and two cup double campaigns.
In a statement released by the club, they thanked him for his efforts while also acknowledging that the opportunity to manage an Ireland team was going to be 'hard to resist.'
"Dundalk FC wishes to congratulate Stephen Kenny on his appointment to be the Republic of Ireland Manager in 2020.
"The Club would like to take this occasion to thank Stephen Kenny for driving the amazing success achieved during his tenure.
"We understand that his next opportunity is one that he was going to find hard to resist, once offered, and everyone connected with Oriel Park wishes him the very best. His achievements at Dundalk FC have merited this opportunity and it is fully deserved."
Kenny has confirmed that it’s written into his contract with the FAI that he will take charge of the senior team in August 2020, and the cup double champions
The FAI unveiled Mick McCarthy as the new Ireland manager on Sunday but revealed that he will step down from the role after the 2020 European Championships, to be replaced by Kenny.
The unorthodox arrangement has raised some eyebrows with questions being asked as to just how air-tight the agreement with the FAI and Kenny is.
The prospect of McCarthy leading Ireland deep into the tournament and how difficult it would be to ask him to leave after that had been discussed, but Kenny insists that he, McCarthy and the FAI are in full agreement and that come August 2020, he’ll be in charge of the Irish team.
"It’s already been decided, the decisions have already been made," Kenny said at a press conference to confirm his appointment as Under-21 manager.
"I think if Mick gets Ireland to the Euros and performs well, I’ll be absolutely delighted.
"It’s a great scenario to have because you’ll be taking over a team playing with confidence.
"It’s great for Mick because it would be a massive achievement for him to do that again. His stock will be really high and it will be great for him and great for the county and I view that as only good news.
"In August 2020 I’m taking over and that’s been decided. It’s in writing."
Kenny's immediate focus will be on the Under-21s however and he believes that he has a talented pool of players available to him at that level.
"I’m excited about the Under-21 job. Last year the age group was 1996, this year it’s players born in 1998 so there are some players that have been involved in the senior international team.
"Lee O’Connor, obviously Michael Obafemi and Caoimhin Kelleher have been in the squad so they’re all available for the Under-21s this year.
"There’s been other players who have been really doing well through the groups. It’s not fair to mention players but obviously Adam Idah and Troy Parrott have caught the eye.
"There’s players in the League of Ireland that are available for the Under-21 teams right throughout the country.
"The underlying thing is that there’s a lot of talented players playing throughout the country."
