Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny joined Joe Molloy on Monday’s OTB, reacting to yesterday’s Euro 2024 qualifying draw and what the implications of the schedule for his team.
Sunday afternoon saw Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland fall into the dreaded Group B of the Euro 2024 qualification process. There they were selected to face the Netherlands, France, Greece, and Gibraltar in a bid to secure their spot in the competition in Germany in two years’ time.
Despite the tough draw Kenny was quick to dispel any lack of confidence in his side, although he did concede that to progress through they would need to “really maximize [their] potential.”
“We have to organize ourselves now and really give everything. We’ve been building for this competition for the last two years” he said on Monday’s Off The Ball.
“Nobody wanted France as second seeds for sure, Greece are strong fourth seeds and of course Holland have great tradition in this competition, but it is what it is.
We really need to put in some strong performances. There’s plusses and minuses in the schedule and we’re just working on that now.”
These peaks and troughs range from timetable run ins, what with the World Cup concluding in late December and the Championship wrapping up just six weeks before the summer international window, to weather conditions such as those expected for Ireland’s away fixture vs Greece in June 2023. The most contentious point however is to do with the spread of matches themselves, with the Republic of Ireland scheduled to be left out of play on the last day of competition, contrary to their other group members.
“I’m very disappointed with the lack of transparency around the last fixture” Kenny explained.
“For example, we don’t play on the last day. So for example Holland play Gibraltar and Greece play France on that day. Say France need a draw against Greece, they can take a draw, but let’s say Holland know they need to score four goals to beat Gibraltar to go through, they would know that but we’ve no fixture, so we’re not happy about that at all” he said.
“If there is going to be an odd one out surely it has to be the lowest seed. There’s a lack of clarity around that decision making process, how that decision was made, and I don’t think that’s a fair process.”
Kenny points out that he “saught clarification” on the matter, but despite that received “very little feedback.”
One thing that he is resolute in though is the magnitude of this tournament, concluding that “the stakes are too high” and that all of their opponents will be treated with “equal respect.”
“These are huge games and ones that we want to make sure that we are absolutely ready for” he concluded.
“It’s important for us that we get the players in early and be together to make sure the players are absolutely match fit.
There’s no formalities and you’ve got to earn the right to win every game… we just have to plan accordingly.”
Football with Sky Ireland
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