The 13th game of Stephen Kenny’s Ireland tenure takes place this evening but, from the manager’s perspective, he has already used up his quota of bad luck.
e faced a few (Zoom) questions yesterday looking for his reflections on the season, with the parameters of the UK football calendar used to justify the query. Kenny did answer the question but he later gave the impression that he is firmly in mid-campaign mode at the moment rather than preparing to rest up and take stock when the showdown with Hungary is out of the way.
After all, there was a four-month gap between the November and March windows so there’s a shorter window to a hectic September triple-header with fewer club obstacles in the way.
He also stressed that the club situation of a player is less likely to impact on his thinking for the competitive dates with Portugal, Azerbaijan and Serbia.
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“The (club) season is only a week old coming into September so, really, this is five games in a row,” said Kenny. “That’s how I compartmentalise it; two games now, the players have a couple of weeks off and they are back in training. So really, September 1 (date for Portugal away) they are only back a week and they are into international camp.
“They will all probably get equal minutes at their clubs so someone playing regularly for their club is more of a factor in October, November. So this camp is important in that regard.”
Admittedly, the manager is unlikely to play down the significance of this gathering, yet he is giving off messages that it could really prove relevant for what’s coming even though he should have a more seasoned squad available when that business comes around.
If anything, his determination to place faith in the under-21 graduates appears to have been strengthened rather than tempered by what has gone before.
His assertion that he wants Gavin Bazunu to play in front of a crowd tonight with a nod to September appeared significant, although he may end up sharing duties with Caoimhín Kelleher.
Either way, the absent Darren Randolph’s position really does seem to be insecure.
Troy Parrott is set for another start and Kenny repeated his view that Ireland’s young attacking players hold such importance for the future that they need to be nurtured. It’s plausible he will be well positioned when Callum Robinson and Aaron Connolly return.
Jason Knight is another with a chance to move up the pecking order, and he’s gathering momentum whereas the likes of Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick need to find it from somewhere again. Harry Arter is at a different stage but he should feature tonight, possibly even in a defensive midfield role that was earmarked for James McCarthy initially.
If it all goes wrong tonight, of course, then Kenny may be pining for the players that stayed behind. Losing Séamus Coleman was a blow, with the skipper never realistically in contention but still making sure to travel to the Spanish leg of this exercise to offer his presence for the longest gathering of the Kenny era. Positive comments from John Egan suggest that coach Anthony Barry has made a really good impression.
But, externally, the quality of the performance against their Euros-bound hosts will form the basis of a review of what was achieved. The victory against Andorra featured individual moments of joy as opposed to screaming collective good health. This will be a completely different type of game, with a grass pitch, an expectant crowd and a home side that will be expected to come out and play positively.
Kenny admires Hungary’s rise to become a major tournament competitor but there’s an element of a guessing game around how they might approach this fixture. Coach Marco Rossi will mix it up from the side that defeated Cyprus 1-0 on Friday and has said all of his squad who didn’t see action then will be involved tonight but Kenny predicts they may start with something close to their strongest XI.
“It’s terrific going into games with supporters,” said Kenny, “In a way, it’s a bit of a carnival for them, a full house, which is amazing. But we want to make sure we perform well.”
He confirmed there would be changes to his side and hinted that the system will be modified. Hungary operate with a back-three and wing-backs and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Ireland will match up. Kenny indicated that using Parrott in the same role he played in the 4-2-3-1 against Andorra would likely be a non-runner as it might leave the side exposed in other areas. Parrott effectively functioned as a second striker supporting James Collins and later linked up with Adam Idah.
“At Ipswich, he wasn’t used as a number nine but that is what Tottenham see him as, a number nine. He definitely has the capacity to play higher and play in that attacking number ten position.
“Can we play against Hungary with two wingers and two players (two strikers) like that? You leave yourself quite open away from home, playing like that, so can we adapt in other areas to allow him to do that? That is the question. We have to tactically modify the possibilities before we can get him to do that.”
Shane Duffy would expect to feature and it’s conceivable he could link with John Egan and Dara O’Shea in a
back-three with Matt Doherty and James McClean as a wing-backs. In a back-four, it would come down to a choice between Duffy and O’Shea.
“I think we do have the flexibility to be able to play a back-four or a back-three,” said Kenny. “We don’t have an armoury of strength in depth where we can stick to one system, so that’s why we have to have that flexibility.”
In contrast to Kenny’s previous 12 games, there will be a genuine atmosphere to what unfolds and one aspect of the Irish brief will be to try and frustrate a home crowd buoyed by the fact they have succeeded where Ireland failed by qualifying for a tournament that will be partially played on home soil. The success or otherwise may have an impact on the mood when the Aviva gates eventually open up come September.