No lack of motivation for Gibraltar, insists beleaguered Stephen Kenny
Stephen Kenny is adamant motivation won’t be a problem for Ireland in tomorrow’s dead rubber against a Gibraltar side ranked 198 in the world.
Ireland are back in Faro two years on from Cristiano Ronaldo’s killer brace but the standard of opposition for this penultimate Euro ’24 qualifier is a world away from the Portuguese.
Five defeats from six, including the meetings with lower seeds Greece, have quashed a direct route to another tournament, leaving Kenny to scour other groups for the remote chance of a playoff next March.
He’s got this stroll to navigate at Estadio Algarve before concluding against Netherlands in Amsterdam on November 18. A friendly against New Zealand four days later completes the year and likely Kenny’s three-and-a-half years in the job.
That context and the status of mostly part-time opposition means it's probable Kenny will make changes on Monday night.
Andrew Moran was due to link up with his Brighton and Hove Albion teammate Evan Ferguson for Saturday’s flight but the uncapped playmaker sustained an ankle injury during Friday’s 2-1 win for the U21s in Latvia.
"It depends on the definition of full-strength,” he replied when asked if he was considering tweaks to the team that lost 2-0 to the Greeks in Dublin on Friday, a result which applied the last rites to qualification.
“What we want to do is pick a team that we feel can win and that tactically suits this game and that's what we will do.
“We all have to get results, we understand that. I came into this camp thinking if we can get six points, we possibly have a chance to take it to our final game in Amsterdam.
“We are hugely disappointed, we are no doubt, to lose the game. What we have to do now is to perform tomorrow and win the game
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