In the bowels of Aviva Stadium on Monday night, Stephen Kenny is handed a bottle of water and asks journalists to stand back and give him space.
He has just finished his formal post-match press conference in the auditorium next door, following Ireland’s 3-0 win over Gibraltar.
Through the adjoining door and away from the cameras, he gives an additional 10 minutes or so to written media, for ‘follow-up’ interviews which is standard practice.
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But after the week that was, the manager fighting for his position wants to get something off his chest and changes tact halfway through the line of questioning.
“Sorry can you all just step back. Alright,” he says to the 10 journalists crowded around him, the assumption being that he just wanted breathing room in the cramped space.
But no, Kenny was clearing the decks for a passionate defence of his CV and why he makes no apologies to critics who include former Ireland managers and players.
The monologue that followed is unlikely to sway opinion on Kenny. You’re either a fan of what he’s trying to do, or you’re not. It’s a clear divide, but has always been thus.
Here is the transcript of what the Ireland boss said as he broke from the norm and came out fighting with his job in the mixer ahead of the France and Holland games.
Ireland manager Stephen Kenny applauds fans after the Euro qualifying win over Gibraltar (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
Kenny said: “This is the way I view it, right? And I don’t mind saying this, right? I’ve never been one to speak about myself like this, in this vain.
“But I started as a young manager, successful. I failed and then I failed better. I went on again, had setbacks and built resilience and determination.
“I’ve been in 16 Cup finals. I was in eight FAI Cup finals. I’ve been in two Scottish Cup finals.
“I won six league cups. I won more trophies than anyone in modern history. I won five league titles.
“46 Champions League and Europa League games; I beat Maccabi Tel Aviv, BATE Borisov, Gotenburg home and away, Hajduk Split and others, drew with Paris Saint Germain, drew with Legia Warsaw.
“That’s why I got this job because I’m the most successful Irish manager at this time.
“I went on from that, managed the U21 team, got good experience, took the radical approach of taking all these 17-year-olds and putting them in the U21 team which never happened before.
“We had an exciting time and were leading the group and might have qualified.”
Showing no signs of slowing down, Kenny continued: “Mick McCarthy is a good manager, great man, and obviously coronavirus >Covid interrupted the succession plan, reports the Irish Mirror.
“I had the play-off and the subsequent Covid games which were a bit of a farce because we had nine or 10 missing out of each camp. We lost the play-off on penalties.
“It’s been said I’ve been three years in the job. Realistically, I’ve been two years building this team, since March when we lost here [against Luxembourg], and in the opening game in Serbia.
“All of those players have come in over the last two years. We’ve given 18 players their debut, through our own system.
“We’d nine years with nothing through, nothing, we brought 18 players through from the system.
“We finished third in the group which was probably parity. Obviously there was a bit of pain, a bad defeat against Luxembourg and so forth.
“This is the campaign that I’ve built for. Obviously we had a right setback with the game against Greece.
“That was an important part of the plan, to beat Greece because we got sort of a group of death.”
Kenny then appeared to take aim at some of his critics who have included former Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-players like Damien Delaney.
Still in the same flow as before, and uninterrupted by questions, Kenny continued: “I’m very strong and very resilient and I don’t really care.
“I don’t need to listen to anyone’s opinions to know what I want and what I am. I’ve taken on a lot and it’s a small community in Ireland.
“People are upset over a variety of things but all of the decisions I made with the international team were with the best interests of Irish football.
“I’ve made brave decisions in the best interests of Irish football, OK? And I’ve made good decisions.
“I have a brilliant backroom staff. Keith Andrews is an outstanding coach, outstanding; John O’Shea has been a brilliant addition; Dean Kiely, these are top-level people.
“Stephen Rice has graduated and is doing a great job, and all of the backroom team. So we will get better, we want to still qualify from this group.
“I’ll see out until the end of the campaign. I don’t know after that, it’s other people’s decision.
“The objective was to qualify from this campaign, that is the objective and I’m not trying to hide from that.
“I’m not trying to build forever. We’ve been building a team over the past two years to try and qualify here.
“I think we’ve created a very, very vibrant coaching environment. We’ve completely transformed the way the team plays – not in every game.
“But it’s now assumed that you play that way, in terms of building and playing the way we have.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals but conceded some that we shouldn’t have. We lost games 2-1 on the margins. I accept criticism for that.
“We need to win more games. We need to win more games and I know that. That’s how I feel.”
And with that, Kenny was done. Well, almost.
He was asked why he chose to come out fighting like that? And why now?
“Because it just felt right,” he said.
And Kenny added: "I wouldn’t have got to where I am in this job if I didn’t believe you can achieve extraordinary things.
“The reason I took clubs from nothing, through divisions and into the Europa League group stages was because I believe you can achieve extraordinary things."
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