Kenny targets another great European run

Kenny targets another great European run

By Stephen Leonard

DUNDALK manager Stephen Kenny believes his side has the potential to produce another memorable run on the European stage.

The Tallaght man, who scooped the ‘Premier Division Manager of the Year’ accolade at the PFAI Awards, wants to see his side back at the table in one of the two big European club contests having secured a return to the qualification stages of the Champions League after lifting the SSE Airtricity League for the fourth time under his watch.

Stephen Kenny DSC 5784 1

Stephen Kenny

Having made the group stages of the Europa League back in 2016, the Lilywhites will have been disappointed to suffer an early exit last summer at the hands of AEK Larnaca.

Still, Kenny insists this team should not be judged by that defeat and believes they can again make their presence felt on the European stage despite changes to the qualification structure making it more difficult for representatives from lower ranked leagues to progress.

“Our priority this year was to win the league,” explained Kenny. “We had made a lot of changes to the team and in Europe, we drew with Larnaca and then had to go chasing the game and lost 4-0.

“But they [Larnaca] continued on to beat Sturm Graz 7-0, Sturm Graz who finished runners-up to Salzburg [in the Austrian Bundesliga] and Larnaca are now in the group stages of the Europa League, so you have to put all these things into context.

“We’re in the Champions League now and that’s great and, with our results over the last five years, we’re now seeded for the first time, so that’s another boost.

“Yes certainly getting back into the Europa League [group stages] would be great and our players are very determined,” he stressed.

Right now Kenny and his squad are savouring their League and FAI Cup exploits this season which the Dundalk boss cherishes.

“It’s hard to rank different seasons, but this year is certainly a special one.

“Our players were determined to win back the league and they had that hunger to win the cup too.

“It was an amazing Cup Final, the best atmosphere I’ve experienced in all the cup finals that I’ve been involved in.

“Our fans went there in expectant mood and they came out in huge numbers. The place just emptied out.

“It was brilliant to see players like Sean Hoare and Patrick McEleney living that dream of scoring in the Cup final. It was quite euphoric,” he said.

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