Why Stephen Kenny's calls for time with Ireland are justified 🇮🇪 | OneFootball

For the first time in almost two years, fans returned to the Aviva Stadium to cheer on the Republic of Ireland.

Come full-time in the 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan, the excited mood had turned sour, with fans frustrated at being bailed out from another embarrassing loss by Shane Duffy’s late leveller.

These are tough times for the Boys in Green.

It was just over five months ago that it looked like rock bottom really had been hit with the shock 1-0 home loss to lowly Luxembourg and the pressure on manager Stephen Kenny began to increase.

On the cold, statistical face of it, you can see why. Since Duffy rescued a draw on the 49-year-old’s debut against Bulgaria a year ago, results have been abject.

Thirteen games have followed, with Ireland winning just one (a friendly against Andorra), with seven losses and five draws and in the 14 total games, they’ve scored nine goals and been kept scoreless on nine occasions.

However, the man in charge remains positive about their prospects as he is eager to see something built long-term.

“We certainly have a plan in place. I made the decision, right or wrong, that we’d build this squad to be a really, really competitive team to qualify for Germany 2024,” the former Bohemians boss told reporters at his Monday press conference.

“Our overall performances in this campaign, bar Luxembourg which we were all disappointed with, have been good. I think there’s real progress to be honest, that’s the way me and my staff see it.

“A lot of people say ‘that’s not your job to develop the game here and your job is just to win the next game’ but that kind of near-sightedness doesn’t create anything. You’re trying to build something tangible over a period of time that can be successful and we have a very exciting squad emerging.”

It is hard to find fault with that sentiment. While Giovanni Trapattoni and Martin O’Neill delivered memorable triumphs, those were arguably short-term glories at the expense of looking ahead – a tough task Kenny has now been charged with.

He is an extremely talented tactician, taking a Dundalk team from the depths of despair to unthinkable glories domestically and in Europe almost in the blink of an eye, before stepping into the FAI fold.

He did it playing a fearless, fast, swashbuckling style which built from the back and cut through teams with ease, while his success rate at developing players and cultivating a philosophy was there for all to see.

His time in Louth came after a chastening tenure at Shamrock Rovers who panicked and pulled the plug too quickly on him – an error that the FAI cannot afford (in every sense of the word) to repeat.

Additionally, the tools at Kenny’s disposal just aren’t up to par with the players some of his predecessors have had the pleasure of working with in what is as thin a senior set-up as there’s been for some time.

Robbie Keane spoiled supporters with his regular flow of goals that always gave Ireland a chance but the attacking well has now run dry, as evidenced by the struggles up front and the fact that James McClean is the top scorer in the time since Keane retired, with fellow Derryman Duffy just behind.

Adam Idah is an exciting prospect and looks best placed to step up consistently and bridge a gap that even Kenny acknowledged has existed between his old under-21 job and the senior side.

His contract expires next summer and the Dubliner admitted he’s received “no assurances” on his future but he remains, as he was when appointed, the right man to lead his country on a journey that he believes could lead to a tournament return in three years.

Even without the lack of viable alternatives, who would as ever represent only a short-term fix, he is a man with a positive plan for Irish football whose vision and history deserve the chance to lead an Ireland side to a European Championship in Germany.

After all, it was pretty fun the last time.