“I have great belief in the players in this squad.”
Stephen Kenny has backed his Republic of Ireland players and hit back at criticism of him and his squad in recent days.
Kenny was speaking following Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Qatar in Hungary. The Boys in Green opened the scoring through James McClean early in the first half. Ireland were the better team in the opening period but started the second half sloppily.
Qatar struck back just after half-time and equalised through Mohammed Muntari.
There were some positives from the match from Ireland’s perspective, even if Kenny’s wait for a first win goes on. His record now reads five draws and six defeats since taking charge of the national team.
Kenny received heavy criticism following Ireland’s 1-0 defeat to Luxembourg on Saturday. However, the former Dundalk manager has hit back.
“You have everyone coming out of the woodwork now wanting to kick us when you are down,” Kenny told RTÉ. “That’s the gig…I have great belief in the players in this squad.
“We will formulate a very very good squad over the next couple of years. I am certainly going to be part of that and I am going to manage that and make sure we are even better.”
You can watch Kenny’s interview below.
"You've everyone coming out of the woodwork wanting to kick us while we're down and that's alright… but I've great belief in the players and I think we're going to formulate a very good squad"
Watch Stephen Kenny's full post-match chat with @Corktod #RTESoccer #QATIRL pic.twitter.com/Bdg0ivdYYh
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 30, 2021
In his post-match press conference, Kenny also addressed the criticism he has received.
Kenny in presser discussing criticism again: "I've experienced a lot in my life. It doesn't hurt me because, do you know what? I don't care. I know what I'm doing. I have real clarity in what I'm trying to implement. Some people have turned quickly. Maybe that's to be expected"
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) March 30, 2021
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