On the day the Euro 2028 preliminary bid was formally submitted, Stephen Kenny must have known the question was coming.
Will you be the Irish manager for that tournament, where Dublin could potentially stage up to seven games?
“I’m not looking that far forward,” said Kenny, playing the straight bat and sitting back in his chair as he prepares to face Norway in a friendly tonight, as preparation for Euro 2024.
“I’m not looking further than the European Championships and this campaign, to do my utmost to get the team to perform to the best of their ability and try and qualify.
“It’ll be a great event for the country whether I’m manager or not. For me, I’m just qualifying for this campaign really.”
Since succeeding Mick McCarthy, Kenny has occasionally built a rod for his own back with some of his more bullish predictions in public.
His determination and belief that Ireland can reach new heights has always been admirable, but he just hasn’t helped himself at times.
But there was no chance he was ever going to put his foot in it this time - not ahead of an upcoming year that will determine his longevity in this role.
But what of his young team?
Should they be hitting their peak by the time Euro 2028 rolls around, with games being shared between Aviva Stadium and Croke Park?
Kenny said: “I suppose with the age profile, I see the point of course. But it’s not something I can really focus on, Euro 2028.
“A lot of players’ careers can change so rapidly in that space of time so it’s difficult to predict, to say ‘this player will be exceptional in 2028’. It’s so far away.
“But there’s a good production line of talent and it’s a credit to all the international managers, the underage ones, who do terrific work, and the grassroots clubs who provide them.
“We’re a small country but they’re providing some really good players in recent years up through the ranks and that’s a credit to all the coaching being done at underage.
“We’ve seen it with the emergence of so many players in the first team now. We want the team to improve again and push on.
“And, of course, in 2028, we spoke about Evan Ferguson coming in for the first time, he’ll be a different player at that time.”
Uncapped Ferguson, 18, will start on the bench against Norway tonight but would become Ireland’s youngest ever scorer if he hits the net in either game this week.
While a friendly is likely to be slotted into the March window as prep for France, Kenny is using these games to fine tune ahead of a make-or-break Euro 2024 campaign.
Supporters at Aviva Stadium tonight have been denied the chance to see Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland strut his stuff.
But, from an Irish perspective of chasing wins and consistency, there is probably no harm in it either even if Kenny insists he won’t be changing his game plan either way.
With Troy Parrott injured, Kenny has a conundrum up front as he admits it would be difficult to play speedsters Michael Obafemi and Chiedozie Ogbene as a partnership.
“It’s a dilemma,” said Kenny, who could slot Callum Robinson into the Parrott role. “Getting characteristics that complement each other is important.
“They can play together at certain times but Callum Robinson is doing well too. So there’s big decisions.
“Callum had a brilliant spell before the June window. Michael has only started three games for us. It’s hard to believe that because he’s had such an influence.
“There’s an element of competition. I’m sure the three of them will feature tomorrow at some stage.”
Kenny continued: “There won’t be massive changes in the team. Obviously Jason Knight is not available, but I don’t see wholesale changes really.
“There will be some changes between now and Sunday.
“Norway have a lot of players playing at a good level. The highest profile is their captain, Martin Odegaard (of Arsenal), who is an exceptional p[layer for sure.
“They have players in La Liga and other top leagues, so they have shown themselves to be a good team.”
Kenny, who has no fresh injury concerns, added:: “It’s an important game in preparation for France.
“Obviously France and Norway are different. It’s difficult to gauge, France have been changing their system so much, between a back three and a back four.
“So you can’t say it’s the same tactical challenge. But it’s a really good game, Norway are one of the better teams not going to the World Cup.
“These two games are good preparation for us. It’s a chance to get the squad together to get more game time, more training time.
“We want to make sure we hit the ground running when we come in. We want to pick a strong team tomorrow. We want a strong performance.”
Probable Ireland team (3-5-2): Bazunu; Collins, Egan, O'Shea; Doherty, Browne, Cullen, Molumby, Brady; Robinson, Obafemi
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