THERE ARE more good times to come for Ireland and Stephen Kenny according to Irish midfielder Jason Knight. The 20-year-old played a vital role in Ireland's final game against Luxembourg on Sunday as his cameo from the bench resulted in 3 assists.
Ireland's chances of going to the World Cup in Qatar next year were ended early on in the qualification group as Ireland lost three times, including an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Luxembourg, but the squad redeemed itself with performances against Portugal and others.
Luxembourg , Luxembourg - 14 November 2021; Jason Knight of Republic of Ireland. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)Knight was asked if we can expect more from Ireland in the future and said:
“Definitely, not just from me, from everybody. There are loads more in the locker and it is down to me to show that.
“It is just consistency. We have seen progression as we have gone through the campaign. I think it is just about keeping that going and bringing that forward and trying to get the best out of the squad that we can.
“The lads have been really, really good, especially in the last couple of camps. That is what you want as a competitive nation. You want to be really, really competitive within the squad as well, and I think we have that at the moment.”
Ireland will rue the chance not to hold on to leads against Serbia and Portugal, buy Knight feels there's not point in dwelling on it.
“You might say that, but I don’t think we can look back on that. We just want to look forward.
“We have had a really good last four or five months and we just want to keep progressing into the March camp now.”
Knight is well known to former Under-21s manager Kenny and has become part of the senior team. Along with the likes of keeper Gavin Bazunu and defender Andrew Omobamidele, he has thrived in the senior
He said: “It might look that way, but I think that has been down to the fact that a lot of senior players have been really, really good to us, obviously the staff as well.
“But the senior players have done their best to try to integrate us as well and look after us in that sense.”
Jason Knight completely changed the game for Ireland tonight 🇮🇪⚽️🔥
⏲️ 28 minutes played
🅰️ Two assists
📊 100% pass success rate
He also won the free-kick for Shane Duffy's goal. The future is bright 😍#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/9N5fWn7nO7— Kenny's Kids (@KennysKids) November 14, 2021
