STEPHEN KENNY has clearly had enough of the naysayers.
After a disappointing draw with Qatar on Tuesday night, Stephen Kenny was well aware of what the reaction was about to be.
People would point out that we are now 11 games without a win, that World Cup qualification is all but ruled out already, and that we clearly have a lot of work to do.
But he was ready. And when Tony O'Donoghue interviewed him after the game, Kenny did not hold back.
We wouldn't go as far as to say he came out swinging, but he certainly didn't hold back either.
He said: "I'm happy with the evolution of the squad and the way it's going.
"I'm used to winning every week. I won the league four years in a row, for about five years, I lost hardly any matches and with the under-21s, we won nearly every match... The reason I was given the job is because of my record.
“You have everyone coming out of the woodwork now wanting to kick us when you are down.
"That’s alright, that's the gig we're in, that's part of it, we have to accept that… I have great belief in the players in this squad.
"I think we're going to 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 I'm going to make sure we are even better, and that's the way I genuinely feel."
"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
You love to hear that from the Ireland manager.
