Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny is refusing to be distracted by speculation over his future (Liam McBurney/PA)
Stephen Kenny will not allow speculation over his future to become a distraction as the Republic of Ireland attempt to end a dismal Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on a positive note.
Ireland face Group B minnows Gibraltar in Faro on Monday evening in their penultimate fixture, having won only one of the six which have preceded it with automatic qualification now beyond them and retaining only a slim chance of reaching the play-offs after Friday night’s 2-0 defeat by Greece.
That has inevitably led to calls for the manager’s head, with the Republic having missed out on the finals of every major tournament since Euro 2016.
The Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-0 at home by Greece to end their hopes of automatic qualification for Euro 2024 (Liam McBurney/PA)
However, asked if that noise might prove a distraction, Kenny, who last week received assurances from Football Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill, said: “No.
“I have to be realistic. Jonathan Hill perfectly clarified it when he said that ‘Stephen would be the manager until the games in November’, and they’ll have a review and assess that.
“At the moment, that’s out of my control. In this camp, it was important to try and win against Greece. We haven’t managed to do that, I understand that, that it’s not a good result for us.
“But from my point of view, I am contracted to the end of the campaign so I just want to finish the campaign strong. If there is a play-off, we can assess that, but finish the campaign strong and take it from there.”
Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson (centre left) scored in the reverse fixture in Dublin
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