St Patrick's Athletic midfielder John Mountney is backing his former manager Stephen Kenny to turn things around and become a success with the Republic of Ireland.
Kenny heads into next month's 2022 World Cup qualifiers still searching for his first win after eight games in charge, and without a goal in seven.
Mountney enjoyed unprecedented success while playing under Kenny at Dundalk, winning four Premier Division titles and qualifying for the Europa League group stages.
He told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast that Kenny remains the right man to lead the national team.
"I’d be confident in him," he said. "Anyone who was a football fan would be able to see the style of football Ireland were playing. It was definitely more enjoyable.
"Of course, with all the injuries and Covid, it was a very tough time for him to take over, and having little time with the players too.
"But I’ve full faith in him to be successful as Ireland manager.
"He has that aura about him. To know how he was at dealing with people and player management, any player who was let go by Dundalk over the years would still speak really highly of him. Not many would do that about managers who don’t offer them new contracts.
"I’ll never forget one time he took me off at Dalymount Park at half-time. Obviously I felt I was the easy option on the night. It wasn’t going our way and I was young enough at the time.
"I went in to see him the next day to say I wasn’t having it, and it didn’t take him long to put me back in my box. I didn’t know where to look or what to say.
"Even then, he was able to bring the conversation back around and I walked out that door feeling like I was eight foot tall.
"He just has something about him, the way he deals with people and brings out the best in them."
Mountney ended his nine-year stint with Dundalk in December to link up with former team-mates Stephen O’Donnell and Robbie Benson at St Pat’s.
The Inchicore club finished sixth last season, five points behind Dundalk, and Mountney is excited to get started.
"I was at Dundalk for nine years, I’m living in Dundalk as well and have a real attachment to the place," the Mayo native said.
"I knew it was never going to be easy, the day I had to go.
"But I was very confident when I spoke to Stephen. Having played with him and knowing the type of person he is, and what he wants to do at Pat’s, it was the perfect opportunity for me.
"I never thought twice about it. Even driving up the first few days, I knew it was the right thing.
"The group that’s already there, they’re lads I played against in the league and rated highly. I still have that opinion.
"Even the young lads coming through, there are lads who have won League of Ireland titles at U15, U17 and U19.
"There’s some great talent coming through and a real hunger for success."
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
