Richard Dunne gives damning verdict on Stephen Kenny as his Ireland reign nears an end

Stephen Kenny’s increasingly tortuous reign as Ireland manager is set to come to an end imminently and in the view of former Ireland defenders Richard Dunne and Damien Delaney, it was allowed to continue for too long.

Kenny has admitted he does not expect to return as Republic of Ireland manager when his future is decided next week.

The 52-year-old’s current contract effectively ended with Tuesday night’s 1-1 friendly draw against New Zealand in Dublin and the Football Association of Ireland’s board will meet next week to decide whether to stick or twist.

They are expected to make a change at the top and ex-Manchester City and Everton defender Dunne insists the FAI have no choice to make.

“I understand how much the job means to him and he has given everything, but every manager of Ireland has given everything,” Dunne told Virgin Media Sport.

“I think to say it doesn’t mean as much to other managers isn’t right. Professionally, everyone wants to do a good job, but first and foremost the Ireland job is about getting results and competing.

“Stephen has given everything, but he just wasn’t good enough to make the right decisions to get the team competitive in games against the real best and sometimes even against the worst teams in Europe.”

When asked whether managers with a background in the League of Ireland are up to the job of managing Ireland, Dunne suggested Kenny was never equipped for the job.

“There are certain people in the League of Ireland now who could go on to manage Ireland, but I don’t think Stephen Kenny had the right sort of experience throughout his managerial career to prepare him for the difficulties of being the Ireland manager,” he added.

“To manage Ireland, it’s more than just doing okay with an Irish club in Europe. Winning the league and qualifying for Europe is not enough to be Ireland manager.

“You need to be capable of in-game management to be able to switch how your performance is going. He’s spoken about being really close in games, but really good managers can change that. All though his tenure, he’s been the one who can’t make a difference to the team.”

Public support for Kenny’s tenure waned as the Euro 2024 qualification campaign he had built towards came and went without the success he craved, and he acknowledges that the writing is on the wall.

He said: “Obviously the board are meeting next week. They’ve a decision to make and I respect whatever that decision is.

“Of course, it would be a dream to carry on and manage the team, of course it would, but my instinct is that’s not going to happen. That’s my own instinct and the evidence suggests that probably won’t happen, so I respect that as well.”

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