DUNDALK MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny is relieved that the League of Ireland champions were not drawn against Manchester United in the Uefa Europa League, believing that the clash would have been an embarassment.
The Lilywhites became only the second Irish club to reach the group stage of the Europa League, but Kenny feels a so-called glamour tie with the Premier League giants would have seen more fans supporting United than Dundalk in the home fixture.
“I know people were wondering about drawing Manchester United but that’s not a game I would have particularly wanted personally,” Kenny told the Irish Examiner.
“I think I would have been embarrassed playing in Lansdowne Road with more people there supporting an English team than ourselves.
“I would have found that difficult to comprehend.”
Dundalk will face Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in the group stage, with their home matches held at Tallaght Stadium. Having seen so many fans come out to support the Lilywhites during their Uefa Champions League campaign, Kenny is hopeful that his side can continue to attract bumper crowds.
“These are great footballing ties against great football clubs,” the 44-year-old said.
“I know that the recent matches against BATE Borisov and Legia Warsaw have really captured the imagination of people right throughout the country.
“Zenit are a big club in Russia and they have lots of international players, lots of Brazilian players. AZ recently won the Eredivisie, while Maccabi Tel Aviv regularly win the league title in Israel.
“I think we have shown in the games against BATE and Legia Warsaw – two teams that have been in the group stages of European competition regularly – that if we play to our full potential we are equals.”
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