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The Irish Sun
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘No guarantees' – Stephen Kenny warns St Pat's fans ahead of Europa Conference League qualifiers
STEPHEN Kenny has warned his St Pat's players they will have to fight for their lives in Europe. Kenny had his side's Advertisement 2 Kenny's side currently sit sixth in the table with two more games played than teams around them 2 St Pat's narrowly missed out on Conference League qualification last season, losing to İstanbul Başakşehir in the play-off round The Lithuanian outfit will be in Richmond Park on Thursday facing a Saints team that has not won for six matches, Last year, European football sparked an upturn in their form but boss Kenny is not assuming the same thing will happen again. The Inchicore supremo, 53, said: 'There's no guarantees just because you did it before. We've got to fight for our lives. 'We definitely have to do that. And we've got to give everything of ourselves to get the victory that we need in Europe. And that's what we must strive to do. Advertisement Read more on Irish football 'And we have to come back in the league, our last two games are against Waterford and Sligo in the third phase. "We must compete in those games as well. They're very important games for us as well. We've got to get up levels.' The ex-Ireland boss did highlight how he has had to make do without key players for long periods of time this season to explain in part why Pat's lie sixth, 17 points behind Shamrock Rovers, when they were many people's title favourites. He said: 'Listen, there are no excuses, everyone has their issues but the rhythm of the forwards . . . Aidan Keena started off like a house on fire. He got player of the month in the league, but he did a T-junction (hamstring) and was out for seven weeks with that. Advertisement Most read in Football 'And we fired him in early enough then. But Mason Melia had 'And then had some osteopubis, which he missed three-and-a-half weeks with, and then we put him back in. So we haven't been just getting that rhythm for the two main forwards, although they both scored six each and that's up there. League of Ireland mascots compete in charity race in Naas 'Then the creative players behind, Romal Palmer has been out for the whole season, more or less. And Chris Forrester was out for eight weeks. 'He came back, put himself in for a game against Waterford, but he wasn't quite right and got re-injured. So overall, he was sort of eight weeks with that little cameo in between. Advertisement 'Some people are incredible, like Zach Elbouzedi, or somebody like that. But different players find it harder to get to the level then when they come back. 'Players like Aidan and Chris, they can't just come back after those periods, two months out and just turn it on again. It can be a challenge. 'But excuses are excuses. Putting the ball in the back of the net, you've got to do that regardless. 'And we've enough good players and we just hit a barren period. Sometimes that's difficult to actually explain. Advertisement 'But we just have to fight hard, dig in and give ourselves every chance on Thursday.' DUBLIN HISTORY Hegelmann manager Andrius Skerla was part of the Zalgiris side which won in Inchicore and knocked St Pat's out of the Europa League in 2013. He had previously played for Dunfermline in Scotland but that was before Kenny's stint in charge there. Kenny said: 'He was very fondly remembered, he was a good player, yeah. But our paths never crossed.' Advertisement Hegelmann lie second in Lithuania's A Lyga, six points behind leaders Kauno Zalgiris, with eight matches left to play. And wary Kenny is expecting a tough test in three days' time. He said: 'They're mid-season, they've players of different nationalities and they've done well. They play on an Astro Turf pitch, it's a small ground and we have to adapt to that. 'But first of all is a home game here and we have to make sure that we're ready. Lithuanian teams will always be very competitive, I feel. So we have to put in a strong performance on Thursday night.'
The Irish Sun
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I prefer the Stone Roses' – Stephen Kenny jokes about Bohemians' Oasis collaboration ahead of derby clash
STEPHEN Kenny would take a Stone Roses reunion over an Oasis one. But the St Pat's supremo knows This is the One where his St Pat's side must turn things around. 2 Kenny's Pat's currently sit six points behind rivals Bohs having played two more games 2 Bohemians released the Oasis collaboration jersey on Tuesday and it has split opinions Credit: Kenny's Saints host Bohemians at Richmond Park tonight with their rivals set to play for the first time in their 'But Stones Roses are better. I'm much more influenced by the Stone Roses than Oasis. But Oasis are good, they're OK, but I prefer the Stone Roses.' The former Ireland manager, 53, understands his side need to stop producing the Fool's Gold of good performances with mixed results. Read more on League of Ireland And he hopes tonight can be the springboard for a Resurrection of their league form. Kenny's band of brothers went into the summer break fourth and a point off second but they are now sixth, six points off second, and having played two games more. It leaves their season on a Tightrope. And it is a case of Ste Bangs the Drums on the need to change that. Kenny reasoned: 'We just had a hugely, hugely disappointing two-week period. Most read in Football 'We ended up taking two points from five games, which was inconceivable at that time. So it's been a bad two weeks for us, the minimum we probably deserved was eight points. 'It's one of those intense periods in the season — five games in two weeks, I've always looked at those as opportunities. Watch Roy Keane break character in hilarious blooper reel for League of Ireland ad 'But it's had the opposite effect on us. We've found ourselves dropping down the table. We definitely know we could do with three points, for sure.' And crucial to that is their front men getting back among the goals as the Saints have netted just once in five games. Defender Seán Hoare added: 'When you are not scoring goals it only takes one to beat you. I feel like we do play the most exciting football in the league. "We play attacking football and at times we're open defensively but so be it, you want to excite people. 'But before the last four games, we were probably top scorers in the league. You feel like that has to flip around again soon. 'I just feel like it will click for us going forward. Somebody is going to get a high-scoring game off us when it does click for us.' Kenny added: 'We've actually scored the same number of goals as Bohemians, scored the same as 'It's just this little barren period that cost us, over the course of the season we've let in more goals than we would have wanted. 'I understand there has been a formula, low blocks, five-man defences . . . stifle our dribblers. That's something that we've had to adjust to and we haven't adjusted well enough. 'We're not making excuses, I'm just explaining that other teams have found ways of stifling us and we have to be more adaptable.'
