It’s difficult to keep track of all the times he was apparently one or two games from departure, if even that.Īt various times, he might have read that he could be gone after the ‘Videogate’ investigation, gone after losing to Luxembourg, gone if Ireland lost to Serbia in Dublin, gone if Ireland didn’t challenge for a World Cup play-off, gone if they didn’t finish third when the playoff was dead, gone without a positive result against Scotland in Dublin, gone with a midweek loss to Armenia.Ī year ago in Portugal, the interval discussions were similar in Faro. Speculation that a bad start in March will spell the end should be water off a duck’s back to Kenny at this stage. Perhaps we have reached the stage where Kenny’s backers and detractors can agree that 2023 will decide everything. It’ll all be about the here and now rather than relevance for the future. Ireland have a pair of friendlies in November against Norway and Malta but when those are out of the way, Kenny will be entering matches where no consolation can be taken from near-misses. Germany was the job that he was effectively hired to do, the campaign that will make or break him.
The reality, of course, is that if Ireland fail in their mission to reach those finals, it’s difficult to see how Kenny would remain in situ. Two-and-a-half years from now, Kenny would love to be in the middle of the 2026 World Cup campaign, a likely reward for bringing his country to the 2024 European Championships in Germany.
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