Stephen Kenny felt the Republic of Ireland U-21s could have added to the three goals they scored against Luxembourg but he was nonetheless delighted with the effort shown in his first game in charge.
Following a cagey opening at Tallaght Stadium yesterdat, Ireland scored twice in four minutes through Adam Idah and Neil Farrugia to take full control before Norwich City teenager Idah notched his second on 68 minutes for a 3-0 Euro 2021 qualifying win.
"I was very pleased with the attitude of the players all week. It's been absolutely excellent," Kenny told RTÉ Sport. "To go and produce that then in the game is what you want.
"We won three-nil and it certainly didn't flatter the players. I felt we could have won by at least five.
"They passed the ball really well and that can give us confidence for the rest of the campaign.
"We wanted to try and get more goals. We created a lot of chances but our finishing wasn't what it might have been.
"But tremendous effort and very inventive play. Good one-touch passing and some good goals."
Kenny highlighted the impact of front men Idah and Farrugia, midfielder Jayson Molumby and captain Connor Ronan.
"The value of a goalscorer," Kenny said of Idah. "He has a 2001 birthday, he's just turned 18. He showed his quality with the two goals.
"A great goal for Neil Farrugia as well. He's playing here with UCD and he did terrifically well.
"It's incredible to think that Jayson Molumby was out injured for 15 months. He's an absolute credit to himself. He only recently came back for Brighton after being out with a serious knee injury. He's been tremendous.
"Connor Ronan, it didn't happen for him going down the divisions in England. He's gone to Slovakia on loan (from Wolves to FC DAC 1904).
"It's a brave move and shows guts. He's small in stature but he's not short in character."
Future senior boss Kenny will not oversee another competitive game until September when Ireland host Armenia and travel to Sweden as they attempt to qualify for the European Championships for the first time.
Before that however, they will take part in the prestigious Toulon tournament against the likes of Mexico, Japan, Chile and England.
"It's a great tournament and will be a good experience for the players," said Kenny.
We need your consent to load this SoundCloud contentWe use SoundCloud to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
