Ireland will be hoping to end their UEFA Nations League group on a high in the coming days, with the campaign up to this point having been a rather inconsistent one.
Stephen Kenny's side were very poor in the opening two games, losing to both Armenia and Ukraine without scoring a goal. However, they would look far more impressive in the win over Scotland and draw against the Ukrainians, leaving their manager fairly pleased with their progress.
Speaking this week, he said the team had been playing well in recent times and it was great to see the fans backing them.
We played well in our last few games and from our point of view, with this Irish team, It’s a new Ireland, a new Irish team, a new identity.
We’ve given over 16 players an international debut in the space of 18 months. The style of play is what the Irish public is connecting with in a major way...
People are excited by the team. The crowd have been extremely passionate, you would have felt that in the Scotland game in the Aviva.
However, this is not an opinion shared by all.
Brian Kerr critical of Stephen Kenny 'over-egging' Ireland
Brian Kerr is not convinced by the manager's claims that Ireland have been in good form in recent times.
Speaking on Virgin Media, he criticised Stephen Kenny for implying that the team are completely different under his tutelage than they had been in the past under other managers.
"I wish Stephen would say things that were really honest about how the team plays. He's not the first manager of Ireland who's tried to play nice football."
🗨️ Brian Kerr doesn't think Stephen Kenny should 'overemphasise' his team's approach.#COYBIG | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/tLmvXimwi7— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 23, 2022
I just wish Stephen would say things that were really honest about how the team plays and how the games have gone, not over-egging how they've done.
He said that they played very well the last few matches. They played well against Ukraine and Scotland, but they didn't play well in either of the two games that we lost to Armenia and Ukraine.
It has been stop go, there is no consistency with results or performances. The style of football is a bit better, but he's not the first manager that has ever managed Ireland and played nice football or tried to play nice football, playing through the thirds of the pitch by any means.
I don't think he should be overemphasising that. It is now up to him, the players, and staff to get consistent results and get us in where we're competing to get to the finals of competitions.
Ireland will want to finish this campaign strongly, with friendlies against Norway and Malta to follow in November. From there, the team will face into a Euro 2024 qualifying group.
It is during this period that the progress of the side under Stephen Kenny will be judged, with the former Dundalk boss having had around two-and-a-half years to mould the team at that point.
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