Professional footballers cannot afford blind loyalty but, one by one, Matt Doherty, Gavin Bazunu and Jason Knight performed the “I am Spartacus” routine at the Johan Cruijff Arena late on Saturday night.
After a comprehensive 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands, the Irish players refused to turn on Stephen Kenny, the manager who nurtured their club careers with repeated exposure to the international stage.
“I hope it’s not the case,” said Doherty, Kenny’s curious choice as captain, when asked about the FAI potentially dismissing him at a board meeting on November 28th. “This group needs to be coached well and that’s exactly the things we have been getting for a long time now. I hope he stays on.
“I have always backed him and he always backs me.”
Rarely does a qualification campaign finish so flatly and with unambiguous support for a management that failed, as Kenny said, to turn “defeats into draws and draws into wins”.
Ireland lost six of eight matches in Group B as France and the Netherlands progress to the 2024 European Championships in Germany, quite possibly with Greece joining them.
The manager repeatedly branded the Euros draw a “group of death”, but when placed among Scotland and Ukraine for last year’s Nations League, Kenny’s young squad struggled to finish third above Armenia.
The highest praise over the past three years has been reserved for Anthony Barry, who departed to work with Belgium in 2022, but the Irish players view the current coaching structures as modern and progressive.
Knight spoke of Kenny’s unseen personality, with the public largely judging the 52-year-old on unflattering post-match interviews with RTÉ's Tony O’Donoghue.
“The manager has been great to me and the players,” said the Bristol City midfielder. “We want to be winning more games for him but we’ll see what happens.”
Bazunu, who at 21 is already displaying the hallmarks of a leader in both word and deed, made four good saves against the Dutch in a reprise of his performance against Serbia in September 2021.
“Obviously I’ve no idea what’s going to happen there but in terms of him as a manager he’s been incredible,” said the Southampton goalkeeper. “I think we’ve shown we can go toe to toe, playing really aggressive football against some of the best teams in the world. We’ve just fallen short on results.”
Bazunu does not believe the high press and possession-based style Ireland are trying to adopt under Kenny has been too challenging for a squad that is largely based in the EFL Championship.
“I think that’s the way the game is going. If you look at every team across the Premier League and all of the top teams in Europe, everyone is trying to play that way because it’s the right way to play.
“It’s not good enough to just sit back in and play a five and a four and hope for the best because, number one, nobody wants to see that, and those top teams they’ll just cut you open.
“You can understand the frustration, it’s just as frustrating for us as we can see how close we are, but any real football fan can see the promise in these players and the way we want to play. It’s going to be important into the future.”
FAI director of football Marc Canham will review the Euros campaign before delivering a recommendation to the board later this month.
Kenny, though, wasn’t going to fall on his sword on Saturday, even embracing the notion that he had unfinished business with Ireland despite results ensuring there will be no more competitive games until September 2024.
“Obviously I’m biased. Yeah, of course I do [feel I have unfinished business]. I have seen what the team can become now. You’re not going to rebuild a team without setbacks, it’s not realistic. People go on about my record, but to be honest with you ...”
There was a familiar pause before Kenny revisited the pandemic and “different rules in Ireland and the rest of Europe in relation to close contacts” as if it had a lingering impact on results in 2023, especially the two defeats to Greece.
Just as the former women’s manager Vera Pauw did, the Dubliner openly wants to keep his job.
“I may be in a minority but that’s sport and the tough side of sport.”
Not a minority of one. To the very end, the players remain loyal to Kenny.
