Stephen Kenny's contract extension will be signed, sealed and delivered before next month’s friendly clash with Belgium.
That’s according to FAI chief Jonathan Hill who last night refuted claims that the size of Kenny’s backroom staff was one of the issues causing the delay.
Kenny secured his new deal for Euro 2024 after a strong finish to 2021, and this year he faces two friendlies and six Nations League games.
But Hill sidestepped one question asking if Kenny would be manager for Euro 2024 irrespective of the Nations League results.
“We are very comfortable that we'll have an announcement well before the Belgium game,” he said last night.
“The good thing about the overall situation is we know Stephen wants to continue to be the coach of the senior men's team.
“We want him to be the coach of the senior men's team moving forward so we're just in that stage of any negotiation.
“We have him under contract until July 2022, we said we would do this in the right timetable and make sure all of those issues are talked through.
“We're very hopeful and we believe that Stephen will continue the form that he has had the team in over recent games and that we will have a good, strong Nations League.
“We’re discussing his contract in the context of Euro 2024 and we absolutely want him to be at Euro 2024 and to qualify for it.”
And Hill added: “The decision in relation to Stephen would be taken by 12 people on the board, not one person.
“We’ve moved away from the scenario where one individual can take all the decisions in relation to the running of this Football Association.
“We all saw what happened when we allowed that to happen.”
It was claimed that the size of Kenny’s backroom staff is one of the reasons why contract talks have dragged on longer than expected.
So too was the matter of settling on a compensation package were he to be sacked before the new deal expires.
Hill stressed the ins and outs of the talks would remain private but added: “I don't think there's any issue in relation to his backroom team.”
Kenny was rocked last week when respected Chelsea first-team coach Anthony Barry quit the Ireland ticket for Belgium ahead of the March 26 game.
But Hill said: “Stephen will find someone to replace him, a bloody good coach. That's not an issue.
“Maybe Anthony has raised the bar in relation to the quality of person we want in there.”
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