FAI CEO Jonathan Hill has confirmed that under-fire Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny will remain in charge for the remainder of 2023.
Kenny will oversee the final three fixtures of Ireland's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against Greece, Gibraltar and Netherlands. He will also be in charge for November's friendly with New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium. But while Kenny will make it to the end of the year, Hill gave no assurances about the 51-year-old's future post 2023, and when asked whether Kenny would be in charge for a potential play-off next March, Hill claimed that the FAI would review the managerial situation in November.
"I am [saying he will be in charge], and for the final game in November against New Zealand," Hill said when asked whether Kenny would be manager for the final three Euro 2024 qualifiers. "It's has been a tough Euro campaign which has seen is pitted against two of the best teams in the world.
"While we might not have achieved the results we wanted, with qualification set as a goal at the outset, the manager and players are fully focused on preparing for the next games and will deliver. Once these matches are delivered we will conduct an in-depth review into the campaign, the board will then meet to consider the review and the next steps."
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When pushed on whether Kenny would still be in charge in the unlikely event that Ireland secured a play-off next March for that Summer's Euros, Hill gave no assurances that Kenny would still be in the job. He added: “We will go through the games in October and November, review where we are and see what position we are in."
Since taking over as manager in 2020, Kenny has overseen a period of change in Irish soccer and has brought in a new playing style along with a host of fresh faces. After a disastrous start - which saw him go 11 games without a first win - fortunes improved and Ireland looked to be moving in the right direction towards the end of 2021 and early stages of 2022.
But results and performances have deteriorated since last Summer and with the exception of a 3-0 Nations League win over Scotland last June, bright spots have been few and far between. The Euro 2024 qualifying campaign began with a battling 1-0 home defeat to France in March. Next up was Greece in June, a game which Ireland had to win but ultimately fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Victory at home to minnows Gibraltar followed before this month's consecutive defeats to both France and Netherlands left Kenny clinging to his job. Quizzed on his immediate future after blowing a must-win against Holland, Kenny said: “I’m not really thinking about that right now. I’m contracted for the campaign.
“After that, that’s certainly not my decision. We have to see if we have the play-off in March, there’s still a chance.
“We have Greece and Gibraltar in October and Holland in November and we’ve got to see if we’ve a play-off for the Euros, depending on how things go.”
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