By:
Mark Hendry
Stephen Kenny has warned League of Ireland foes not to “underestimate” St Pat’s after he gained Premier League advice.
The Irishman and his squad are preparing for the beginning of their campaign in early February.
Kenny knows how tough his side’s start is next week as they take on Bohemians away from home.
But the experienced boss has made sure to get every ounce of preparation done.
That’s why the former Republic of Ireland manager made the trip to England to speak with old pals.
Keith Andrews is Brentford boss in the Premier League and has had an excellent rookie season with the Bees.
His side sit eighth in the division and are hunting down a potential Euro spot.
Kenny has been proud to see his mate succeed in England’s top tier having worked with him.
Stephen Kenny visited Keith Andrews at Brentford
The 45-year-old coach was part of Kenny’s staff in the national job.
So he has been pleased to watch from afar as Andrews has shone in the dugout at Gtech Community Stadium.
But despite Kenny being Andrews’ former mentor, the veteran manager was not too proud to learn.
Andrews clearly has a strong plan at Brentford and his tactics and coaching style seems to work.
So for Kenny with the new League of Ireland starting in a week, he wanted to try and take any sort of advice or tidbit he could find.
And he reckons that should help St Pat’s in the long run.
Same goes for Derby County manager John Eustace who also worked under Kenny with ROI.
“We had that expectation to qualify [for Europe] and we didn’t,” he said.
“We fell short, we had to beat Shels in that last game. Couldn’t quite do it.
“What we’ve done is re-evaluate that. We went away at the end of the season.
“I cancelled my holiday, went to Derby for a week with John Eustace, seven to seven, trained every day.
“Had his match the weekend.
“He was with me from seven in the morning to seven in the evening every day.
“Went to Brentford for a week, seven to seven with Keith [Andrews]. Just looked at what they were doing, everything. Just to make sure we improve all aspects of what we do. Make sure we can do that with the constraints that we have.
“That was how we approached the season.”
St Pat’s were one of the favourites last term before they ultimately finished fifth.
And that’s another reason Kenny is scouring for ideas on how to improve.
This season, though, the manager accepts they may not be among the punters’ picks.
Why St Pat’s Athletic are not League of Ireland favourites
But he’s fine with that. So long as they improve.
“You have to always adapt. Always have to adapt.
“Constantly have to evolve. You don’t manage a thousand games if you don’t do that,” he said.
“You have to constantly evolve and constantly improve. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get everything right.
“We had to evaluate where we were. We had quite a technical team last season. It masked some stuff.
“We were outplaying teams, but physically and athletically as a team we weren’t the strongest of the teams.
“So we have to make sure that we are.
“Last year a lot of people tipped us to win the league.
“I don’t think anyone will tip us to win the league.
“But don’t underestimate us. I wouldn’t underestimate us. I think we will be very competitive.”
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