Stephen Kenny said that he was not concerned about questions over his future, yet the Ireland manager came out fighting at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Serbia game.
Ireland have only won one game in 15 matches since Kenny took over, and combined with the fact that the 2022 World Cup campaign is all-but over, the criticism of the manager has become more vocal following Saturday's game at the Aviva where his side were held to a 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan.
The result on Saturday was Ireland’s first point from four games in the campaign, and while Kenny admitted that such pressure was part of the job, he took the time to offer a heartfelt defence of his 12 months in the job.
Kenny admitted "rightly or wrongly" that he was always looking at the bigger picture and ahead to 2024 as he set about to rebuild the international side.
The manager believes that the spine of the team had been ripped out of his squad since he took over and as a result, he has made it a priority to bring through the new generation, which he believes is among the most talented bunch to come through in recent years.
Kenny was also quick to point out the immediate improvement in performances, if not results, and feels that some of the football being played by his side has been the best seen – most notably away from home – over the past ten years.
The intriguing part of all this is that Kenny’s contract runs out in the summer of 2022, and he states that he has not had any assurances that he would be tasked to lead the team forward for the campaign going into the Germany-hosted tournament in 2024.
Looking back to previous management eras, there is a marked contrast in the approach to the job when compared to Martin O’Neill who said bluntly that he was not really concerned about the players who might come through in five years’ time as they would not help him with the task at hand.
There is no doubting that Kenny is preparing a team for the future, and while he is perhaps throwing some in at the deep end, very few have looked out of their depth at the senior level.
Troy Parrott, Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah led the attack for Ireland on Saturday evening, and while they may not have quite gelled as had hoped, there would be few who would suggest that the trio are not going to be heavily involved in future campaigns.
Likewise, there are no obvious omissions from the squad that might offer cause for grumbling, so it is clear that the manager is working with the best available, while also having to dip into the third tier of English football to complete the extended squad.
So why the surge of criticism of the manager, especially since not a full week has passed since the entire country were in awe of the performance of Kenny’s emerging side in Portugal?
Well football is a results business, and even if you can offer no other viable reason to replace the manager, a quick appraisal of his 15 matches will show a paltry one game in the wins’ column, and that coming against a very average Andorra side.
There is also a valid argument that the manager did not get enough out of his squad, or make the necessary adjustments when needed to secure the wins in the campaign at home against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
In contrast, when you compare to recent campaigns under the last few managers, there was always a tendency to secure the maximum against those deemed weaker than Ireland, especially at home, albeit with performances that could be considered less complete than what was produced against Azerbaijan on Saturday.
Similarly, the days of the marquee manager appear to have come to an end when it comes to the Ireland job, and in the absence of plucking an out-of-work international name to shake things up, there are few, if any, exciting alternatives at this moment.
In Kenny’s defence, he is correct when he states that the spine of the team has been removed since he took over the team, with Darren Randolph, Richard Keogh, Glenn Whelan and David McGoldrick all missing from international duty.
And then there are others who Kenny would have attempted to build the team around in the early stages of his tenure who have not been available to him for one reason or another.
James McCarthy, Harry Arter, Robbie Brady, Callum O’Dowda; players with several years of international experience who would surely have complemented the emergence of youth into the side.
And while Kenny has not been at all lucky on the results side of the game, he has been very fortunate to see two potentially world class goalkeepers come into the squad as Randolph’s career was winding down.
Gavin Bazunu and Caoimhin Kelleher will ensure that Ireland are well-catered for in the goalkeeping department over the next decade, while others who have really started to shine at senior level include Josh Cullen, Adam Idah, Dara O’Shea and Jason Knight, which creates a new backbone in the team and one that will provide the basis for the next five years.
Another reason why Kenny might be on borrowed time would be whether he had been perceived to have lost the dressing room, however, there is no indication of any sort of malaise among the squad, while James McClean spoke highly of the manager in an earlier press conference.
And Matt Doherty was heaping praise on the management for the end-of-season camp that brought the squad together following all the uncertainty of the first few months in Covid time.
Stephen Kenny passionately defends Ireland's campaign so far and reiterates his belief that they are building positively for the future #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/eFViaWppRD
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 6, 2021
But has the side improved since Kenny has taken over?
Let’s not forget the last Euro 2020 campaign and the inaugural Nations League outing, when Ireland did not win a game against significant opposition throughout, as they could only draw with Switzerland and Denmark at home, while losing to the Swiss in Geneva and only managing a very forgettable scoreless draw in Tbilisi. There was also back-to-back defeats to a fading Wales team in that period.
The aformentioned Portugal game, shows quite clearly that the team is improving under Kenny, and while he may have passionately stated that we should have won in Serbia, an away point was probably more of a realistic occurrence.
But having struggled to fight his own corner in the post-match press conferences following the Luxembourg defeat and Azerbaijan draw, Kenny was pretty clear about his performance on the eve of the Serbia game, and while that new contract might be pending, his altruistic approach can surely not be questioned.
"I think there’s real progress overall to be honest," said Kenny.
"That’s the way I see it, the way my staff and all the coaches see it, and there are a lot of people behind us.
"There are a lot of people who say 'that’s not your job to develop the game here, your job is just to win the next game’.
"That kind of near-sightedness doesn’t create anything, you might beat teams that you shouldn’t beat, but you’ll never beat the teams you strive to beat.
"You’re trying to build something tangible over a period of time and that can be successful. That’s how I see it."
Follow the Republic of Ireland v Serbia via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player or listen to radio commentary on RTÉ 2fm's Game On.
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