STEPHEN KENNY INSISTS his players know exactly what they have to do in order to secure “our best victory yet” during his time as manager.
The Republic of Ireland boss accepts his side must beat the Netherlands in Dublin tomorrow night if they are to stand any chance of clinching second spot in Group B.
Coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat to runaway leaders France in Paris, Ireland are second from bottom above only Gibraltar but can join the Dutch and Greece on six points with a win.
“It’s a different game tactically to France,” Kenny said in his pre-match press conference at FAI headquarters.
“France are the best team in the world in my opinion, an incredible team, an emerging team that’s got better from the World Cup. Holland have a lot of good individual players and they are formulating a team now
“Greece are a good team and they emphatically beat Greece. They were 3-0 up at half time and they won comfortably. We’re going to have to put in the performance of our lives and we’re determined to do that.
“Of course we need goals in the team. We need to match Holland right throughout and be aggressive in this game and also be composed in the cauldron of the Aviva Stadium. We have to be composed under pressure,” he added.
“We know a victory is important for us, how important it is. That’s where it is. We’ll prepare well, as well as we can and make sure we’re ready. The players are clear on how we’re going to play and we’ll certainly be tested against this team.
“We’ll have to match them. We are capable of doing that. We have to show the belief and conviction to try and get the result we need.”
Kenny confirmed that left wing back Enda Stevens and striker Will Keane are both ruled out due to injury, and said it’s a “possibility for sure” that Bohemians forward Jonathan Afolabi and QPR’s Sinclair Armstrong could get a taste of action having been drafted in on Friday.
“It’s a great game: Sunday night in Dublin, the anticipation, it’s a sellout. People are excited about the game. It has an edge to it,” Kenny added. “Holland has a great tradition. They’ve had great teams; they had a strong World Cup and lost on penalties to Argentina.
“The weekend was their best performance [of this group] against Greece. They changed things around. It’s a challenge we’re happy to take on. We’re excited by the game.”
A visit of the Dutch also brings with it memories of the famous 1-0 win in 2001 en route to qualification for the World Cup, although Kenny was quick to divert any talk of that historic triumph back to the task at hand.
“We’re not comparing ourselves to the team of 2001, they had some of the best players to ever play for Ireland. We’re an emerging team. We’ve shown a capacity to raise our game in front of our own support, our passionate sport, we’ve put in some very good performances at home there.
“It’s a game that will challenge us, Holland have players of the highest calibre, players with the top clubs, we’ve gone toe to toe with some of the best teams and we must raise our game and get our best victory yet, that’s what we’d have to do.
“That’s the challenge for us. We’ll need the supporters to help us do that, that energy in the crowd, that high-octane support to give the players energy.
“Holland press, they press higher and more aggressively than any team we’ve played or as much as any team we’ve played,” Kenny continued.
“They commit a lot of players to the press, six or seven at any time. They’ve got speed, they go as a unit. We’ll have to pass accurately and sharp and be brave in possession for sure.”
