DUNDALK MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny has his sight fixed firmly on qualifying for the Champions League next season and insists that Irish football “mustn’t accept mediocrity”.
Kenny was crowned RTE Sport’s Manager of the Year on Sunday after a season in which he guided Dundalk to their third Premier Division title in succession as well as creating history in the Europa League group stage.
And the Lilywhites boss used his acceptance speech to stress the importance of trying to “constantly improve”.
“We qualified for the Europa League and we had a great run this year. Obviously the next step is the Champions League and we went very, very close this year to qualifying,” Kenny said.
“So we have to think like that. We are asking a lot to compete with the level of resources that other clubs have at that level, but we must certainly strive towards that.
“We mustn’t accept mediocrity. We must really have a desire to get better all the time and constantly improve.”
Kenny was up against a host of high profile managers for the national broadcaster’s award, beating Connacht Rugby’s Pat Lam and Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill to the accolade.
While Kenny was victorious, his former player Daryl Horgan missed out on the Sportsperson of the Year award, which was won by mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, who became the first UFC fighter to hold two world titles concurrently in a historic year.
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