Kenny must strive for consistency and a positive narrative as Nations League concludes
Stephen Kenny has just passed his two year tenure and despite some tremendous progress after a false start, the running theme of his reign has been inconsistency.
Kenny began with depleted sides, probably more than any Irish manager in their early stages with Covid stretching his already narrow player pool to the bare bones.
First Ireland couldn’t win, then couldn’t score, then finally, when things had ‘levelled out’ somewhat and Kenny’s selection woes were eventually eased, Ireland managed to start scoring (two goals in the 3–2 loss to Serbia) and winning (in the friendly win against Andorra).
International windows can be quite frantic by nature, and this has been a the feature of Ireland under Kenny. Essentially, the way you leave a window can define the narrative for the space in between the next, which is usually a long wait.
After back to back losses against Serbia and Luxembourg in March 2021, the Qatar draw although unconventional, stemmed the flow of defeats and offered a glimpse of revival. That sparked a stark run compared to the previous several months with Ireland only losing once in 12 game courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s double whammy in Faro to end any World Cup hopes.
Despite being down and out, the 8 game unbeaten run after that game sparked hope and an upbeat narrative. Kenny’s side were scoring goals and a lot of them, playing some really nice football and at the tail end of a campaign, were blooded with talented young players who could essentially be pulling on the green jersey for the next ten years or more.
Like that draw against Qatar to save some pride in the March 21 fixtures, fine margins have created that momentum and a positive ‘Closed window narrative’. Ireland drew with Serbia in September 2021 solely down to a Gavin Bazunu masterclass and poor Serbian finishing. A loss after a draw with Azerbaijan would have been a disaster.
Similarly just a few months ago, the terrific 2–2 draw with Belgium in Dublin would have been quickly forgotten if Troy Parrott did not bury a 97th minute winner against a dire Lithuania.
Last June was mixed. Two losses on the trot to Armenia and Ukraine’s second string brought back the doubt surrounding Kenny but he created a wounded animal mentality out of his side who thumped Scotland and were unlucky not to get a win in Łódź against Ukraine. This again, caused many to overlook the poor start to the summer fixtures and leave into a long summer with a positive narrative despite getting four points from a very possible 12.
If the results were flipped and Ireland lost their last two games, the mood might not quite be the same travelling to Glasgow. Kenny’s next step has to be nailing consistency and maintaining a positive narrative throughout the international window.
The Scots, in similar circumstances to Ireland, bounced back last week against Ukraine to rectify their last international window and will be out for blood in Glasgow to avenge their Dublin disappointment. As Kenny ends this Nations League campaign, it could be these two matches it will be remembered for and will set the tone, either good or bad for the beginning of the Euro 2026 qualifiers.
Nick, The Green Machíne Podcast
