STEPHEN KENNY WILL remain in his post as Republic of Ireland manager for the double-header of Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and Netherlands in September.
The costly defeat to Greece had triggered another round of speculation about Kenny’s position, with Ireland’s hopes for qualifying for the European Championships severely damaged.
The 42 reported last week that Kenny’s position remained secure until September, and last night’s board meeting confirmed that fact.
CEO Jonathan Hill and Director of Football Marc Canham were part of the discussion with the board around the June international window, and while several different opinions on the performance of Kenny and his team were aired by board members, it’s understood that the clear consensus was that Kenny should continue on as Irish manager.
Ireland followed that defeat in Athens with a 3-0 win at home to Gibraltar, leaving them in third place in their group, level on points with fourth-placed Netherlands having played a game more. Greece are second with six points, and France are top having won four games from four.
Only the top two in the group will qualify automatically for the finals, and Ireland’s likeliest route to the Euros is via the Nations League playoffs next March. Qualification via that route is based on Nations League results, with Ireland’s third-placed finish last year leaving them needing favours from results elsewhere. Ireland can afford for no more than two sides ranked below them to qualify automatically from their group, but at present five of those sides – Armenia, Albania, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, and Romania – sit in their respective qualification spots.
A more significant discussion around Kenny’s future will likely happen after September’s window, if Ireland’s qualification hopes are officially snuffed out. That discussion would be complicated by the fact Ireland won’t know their play-off fate until the end of November, when the entire qualifying campaign is completed.