Stephen Kenny may be feeling the pressure in his dealings with the press, if some comment is to be believed.
Irish Independent journalist Dan McDonnell has many years experience with Kenny and told Off The Ball what we see is not a man under pressure but rather just the man unchanged by his elevated position.
"People might have good intentions. They say 'did you hear what they are saying about you?' That can work both ways," McDonnell said of Stephen Kenny hearing his own press coverage.
"One of the things Kenny would have done in his Dundalk days was, if he had a point he wanted to make, he would shoehorn it into the press conference."
"You've everyone coming out of the woodwork wanting to kick us while we're down and that's alright... but I've great belief in the players and I think we're going to formulate a very good squad"
Watch Stephen Kenny's full post-match chat with @Corktod #RTESoccer #QATIRL pic.twitter.com/Bdg0ivdYYh— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 30, 2021
After the 1-1 draw with Qatar Kenny told RTE that people were "coming out of the woodwork wanting to kick us while we're down." Dan reckons that was something Kenny clearly wanted to say.
"With the RTE one [with Tony O'Donoghue] it was getting towards the end of it and it wasn't really relevant to the question so that change of pace came in.
"I am very used to Stephen Kenny and I did say this when he took over that there is going to be loads of analysis of his interview style and how he approaches it.
"And I'm part of a very small number of people in real terms who has been on the beat and covered Kenny for years, I have not found a single thing surprising, not one thing.
"You can analyse should he be paying attention to this or that, but what I am talking about is the mannerisms, the hesitancy, other stuff that people are now scrutinising and saying 'what does this mean, is he under pressure?'
"That was always something that was going to happen, but it is not relevant in my view. That is actually his personality and anyone who has hired him or given him a contract of some description should know his personality."
Stephen Kenny - 'An acquired taste'
Dan recalled a story of a player signing for Stephen Kenny who was warned about his idiosyncrasies.
"There was this story of a player who was signing for Dundalk who was talking to someone about going there.
"He was warned to expect the occasional silences and the hesitancy and they couldn't get their head around what they were being told.
"Then they realised after a while this is just the way things are. The manic moment at the end of that [RTE interview] is also the way he can swing in a dressing room.
"I can imagine for payers it is a bit of an acquired taste and it will take you time to get to know aspects of that. But I think there is an over-analysis of his interviews."
Kenny's lack of communication fluency when winning or losing is rarely linked to emotion or a suggestion of pressure, according to McDonnell. Cobh or Qatar, it is the same Stephen Kenny.
"People saying 'Oh you see his pause there, he doesn't know what to say.' He could be like that after a 5-0 win over Cobh Ramblers of a Tuesday night," Dan said.
"You could ask him an innocuous question and the same pause might come in. Obviously though, when you are the Ireland manager and the nation is watching, it is going to be different.
"I would be more alarmed if he turned into a slick Communications Clinic client, I don't think that would be natural to him. But when the team is doing badly, of course, it looks bad."
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