Stephen Kenny (football manager)

Stephen Kenny (born 30 October 1971) is a football manager and former player who is currently manager of the Republic of Ireland. He had formerly managed Longford Town, Bohemians, Derry City, Dunfermline Athletic, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk. He is one of Ireland's most successful ever managers having won 8 major trophies with Dundalk,[1] and boasts extensive experience in European competition.

Stephen Kenny
Kenny managing Dundalk against Zenit St Petersburg in 2016
Personal information
Full name Stephen Kenny
Date of birth (1971-10-30) 30 October 1971
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Club information
Current team
 Republic of Ireland (manager)
Youth career
Belvedere
St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Home Farm 4 (0)
Teams managed
1997–1998 St Patrick's Athletic U21
1998–2001 Longford Town
2001–2004 Bohemians
2004–2006 Derry City
2006–2007 Dunfermline Athletic
2008–2011 Derry City
2012 Shamrock Rovers
2012–2018 Dundalk
2018–2020 Republic of Ireland U21
2020– Republic of Ireland
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Kenny grew up in Tallaght and lived there for the first 18 years of his life.[2] He attended Our Lady of Loreto Boys National School and Old Bawn Community School.[3] Kenny ran a successful meat-production business in the late 1990s before moving into football management full-time.[4]

Playing career

During his playing career, Kenny spent two years at Belvedere as a schoolboy before signing for St Patrick's Athletic. Without making an appearance he then transferred to Home Farm, playing just 4 games in the League of Ireland First Division making his League of Ireland debut on 13 March 1994.

Coaching career

St Patrick's Athletic Under-21

Kenny began his coaching career with St Patrick's Athletic when he took charge of the Dublin side's Under 21 side in the Athletic Union League. His first year was successful as St. Pats won the league.

Longford Town

In the summer of 1998, Kenny became the youngest manager in National League history when he took over Longford Town at the age of 26. He led Longford to huge success during his three-year tenure as they won promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division, reached an FAI Cup final and subsequently, qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Bohemians

In December 2001, Kenny left the midlands club and became manager of Bohemians. Taking over at Dalymount Park. Bohemians were then the champions of the Eircom League, having won the Double the previous season. However, the club was in something of a crisis, having parted ways with their league-winning manager, Roddy Collins, in the summer, his successor Pete Mahon struggling after an excellent start to the season. Kenny's impact at Bohemians was immediate, as the side steadily moved away from the lower end of the league table and reached that year's FAI Cup final. However, the season was to end in bitter disappointment, as Bohemians were beaten 2–1 by Dundalk FC, a club which had been relegated from the top flight the previous week. This was Kenny's second FAI Cup final defeat in as many seasons. In the close season Kenny made some changes to the first team squad, and the 2002/2003 season saw Bohemians win the Premier Division title, leading from start to finish. The following season they finished runners-up to Shelbourne FC. In the 2004 season Bohemians began poorly and after 3 months found themselves in 3rd place. Kenny's job was insecure and he was sacked on 27 July 2004, following Bohemians' 3–1 home defeat in the UEFA Cup to Estonian side FC Levadia Tallinn. His league record at Bohemians was 49 wins in 96 games.

Derry City (first spell)
Kenny as Derry City manager

After just three weeks out of the game, Kenny returned to management at Derry City following the sacking of Gavin Dykes, and took over from caretaker manager, Peter Hutton. His time at the club has been hugely successful and he has been credited for turning a team, battling against relegation in the 2004 season, into one which challenged for the Premier Division title in 2005, finishing runners-up.

He also guided Derry City to their first advancement in European competition in over 40 years (the last seeing Lyn Oslo being knocked out) Derry qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing runners-up in the Premier Division in the 2005 season. On 13 July 2006, Derry overcame two-time winners IFK Göteborg in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round 2–0 on aggregate. A 79th-minute header from Sean Hargan was enough to give Derry a shock win[5] in the first leg, and Stephen O'Flynn ensured a 1–0 home victory from the penalty spot. Manager Stephen Kenny was delighted with the win stating:

They have won the UEFA Cup twice and only a few years ago were in the group stages of the Champions League so this is a great night for everyone connected with Derry City. We were worthy winners. It is not as if we got a goal and held on. I think we played the better football.[6]

This marked Derry City's first progression in European football since defeating Lyn Oslo more than 40 years ago.

Derry City were subsequently drawn against Scottish second-level side Gretna in the second qualifying round. On 10 August 2006, Derry claimed a 5–1 away win to gain a considerable advantage going into the home leg. This result is the largest away winning margin for a League of Ireland team in Europe.[7] Following a 2–2 home draw with Gretna F.C. in the second leg and a 7–3 win on aggregate, Derry advanced to the UEFA Cup First round. In the draw, held on 25 August 2006, Derry City were handed a tough tie against Paris Saint-Germain FC. The first leg was played at home at Brandywell Stadium on the evening of 14 September 2006 and ended in a hard-fought 0–0 draw, a magnificent result for the battling Derry side. The second leg was played at Parc des Princes on 28 September. Paris St. Germain won the second leg 2–0 with goals from Pauleta and Edouard Cisse.

He remained in charge of Derry City until 17 November 2006 for their final league game before moving to Dunfermline Athletic. Derry finished second in the league behind Shelbourne, who had a stronger goal difference. Kenny then made a remarkable return to Derry City to manage the club for the FAI Cup final win against St. Patrick's Athletic.[8]

Kenny's total managerial record at Derry included 112 games managed, 65 games won, 29 games drawn, 18 games lost, 170 goals for, 80 goals against and 57 clean sheets. His win percentage was 58%. During his time in charge, a total of 32 players represented the club, and 7 players that he managed went on to represent their country at international level.[9]

Dunfermline Athletic

Kenny was confirmed as the new Dunfermline Athletic manager on 10 November 2006[10] and took up his position on 18 November 2006 where he was to watch Dunfermline's game against Dundee United from the stand[11] An interview was done upon his arrival at the club by stv.

Following his departure from the League of Ireland, his contributions during the 2006 season were still recognised by eircom / Soccer Writers Association of Ireland (SWAI) who nominated the former Derry manager for their 'Personality of the Year' award on 13 December 2006.

Kenny won his first game as Dunfermline manager 9 games into his Pars career – a 3–2 Scottish Cup 3rd round win over Rangers at East End Park. In January 2007, Kenny brought in Jim O'Brien, Adam Hammill, Bobby Ryan, Jamie Harris and Stephen Glass to the club and later brought in released Falkirk striker Tam McManus.

Kenny and his coaching team led Dunfermline to the Scottish Cup Final on 24 April 2007 with a 1–0 win over Hibernian in the Semi final replay then losing to Celtic in the final 1–0. He was unable, however, to prevent the club being relegated from the Premier League. A 2–1 defeat at Inverness CT, coupled with St Mirren's 3–2 win at Motherwell saw the Fife club relegated to the First Division, despite having previously won four league games in a row.

After relegation to the Scottish Football League Kenny's reign was less successful. Losses to BK Häcken of Sweden in the UEFA Cup, Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish League Cup and several humiliating defeats in the league left Dunfermline significantly behind the leading teams in the First Division and cost him his job, in spite of a run to the lower-league Scottish Challenge Cup Final.

After one year in charge, on 4 December 2007, Kenny was sacked as Dunfermline manager. Striker Jim McIntyre – injured for much of Kenny's reign – took charge as caretaker of the club.[12]

Derry City (second spell)

Following his departure from Dunfermline Athletic and the sacking of Derry City manager John Robertson, Kenny was strongly linked with a return to the League of Ireland club. In his first spell, Kenny guided Derry to the FAI Cup, two League Cups and through two UEFA Cup rounds, including defeating former UEFA cup winners IFK Göteborg home and away, and thrashing then Scottish giant killers Gretna only to be knocked out of the competition by an away defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. They were also pipped for the league crown on the final day of the season on two occasions. Kenny was confirmed to have returned to Derry City on 28 December 2007.[13] After being removed from the Premier Division for entering administration Kenny stayed on as Derry Manager and guided them back to the top after winning the First Division in one season.

Shamrock Rovers

On Christmas Eve 2011, Kenny resigned from Derry City after Shamrock Rovers moved to fill the vacant managers job at the club, replacing Michael O'Neill. This was confirmed on 27 December.[14] Kenny took over a club that had won the League of Ireland two years in a row and had qualified for the group stages of the previous year's Europa League. However the 2012 season proved to be a disaster for Kenny and Rovers, crashing out of Europe to Lithuanian side Ekranas and slumping to fourth place in the league table. In September 2012, two months before the end of the season and after a Dublin derby defeat to Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers sacked Stephen Kenny on 11 September 2012.[15]

Dundalk

In November 2012, the new owners of Dundalk F.C. turned to Kenny—out of work since being sacked by Shamrock Rovers—to become their new manager.[16] They mounted an unexpected title challenge in his first season, eventually finishing as runners-up—a defeat to eventual champions St. Patrick's Athletic ultimately costing them the title.[17] But Kenny kept the nucleus of the new side together for the following season, and went on to guide the club to its first league title since 1994–95.[18] They also won that season's League Cup,[19] the club's first League and League Cup Double. The 2015 season saw them dominate, winning the club's third League and FAI Cup Double—with the title being won by 11-points and the Cup with victory over Cork City in the final.[20] They also won the Leinster Senior Cup—the club's first 'treble' since 1966–67. A third league title in a row was sealed with two games to spare in 2016.[21]

2016 also saw the club qualify for the Champions League play-off round, after they first defeated FH of Iceland,[22] then came from a goal down in the tie to defeat BATE Borisov 3–1 on aggregate.[23] They drew Legia Warsaw for the play-off, with the first leg played in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in front of a crowd of 30,417.[24] They suffered a 2–0 defeat in the home leg, but shocked Legia in the return leg by taking a 1–0 lead. With Dundalk pushing for the equaliser that would have taken the tie to extra-time, Legia scored on the break, and won the tie 3–1 on aggregate.[25] As a result, they qualified for the group stage of the Europa League, only the second Irish team to have done so. A draw with AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands,[26] followed by a victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Tallaght Stadium, were the first points earned by an Irish club in the group stage of European competition.[27]

In 2017, after the European run, they won the League Cup again.[28] But the departure of some key players,[29] and a slow start, meant they slipped to runners-up spots in both league and FAI Cup. The club's European form had attracted interest from abroad, however, and a consortium of American investors, backed by sports-investors Peak6, completed a takeover in January 2018.[30] Kenny's side reasserted itself in 2018, winning another League and Cup Double—the second under Kenny and fourth in the club's history—breaking points-total and goals scored-total records in the process.[31][32] In the aftermath, Kenny resigned in order to accept the Republic of Ireland U-21 manager's role.[33]

Republic of Ireland

On 25 November 2018, Kenny was appointed as Republic of Ireland U21 manager following the departure of Noel King.[34] On the same day, Mick McCarthy was appointed Republic of Ireland senior team manager with Kenny set to replace him in 2020.[35][36][37] This transition was originally scheduled to happen during the summer of 2020, but instead happened in April 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of UEFA Euro 2020.[38] His first game in charge was a 1–1 draw with Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League on 3 September 2020.[39] On 8 October 2020, Ireland lost to Slovakia 4–2 on penalties in the UEFA Euro 2020 play-off semi-final in Bratislava.[40][41] The Republic of Ireland completed 2020 with a record of 4 draws and 4 defeats with one goal scored against Bulgaria on 3 September.[42] [43][44]

Managerial statistics
As of 18 November 2020
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Longford Town 1998 7 December 2001 157 63 54 40 040.13
Bohemians 10 December 2001 27 July 2004 96 49 18 29 051.04
Derry City 19 August 2004 2006 112 65 18 29 058.04
Dunfermline Athletic 13 November 2006 4 December 2007 50 15 11 24 030.00
Derry City 28 December 2007 24 December 2011 181 93 49 39 051.38
Shamrock Rovers 27 December 2011 11 September 2012 37 19 6 12 051.35
Dundalk 21 November 2012 24 November 2018 291 191 45 55 065.64
Republic of Ireland U21 25 November 2018 4 April 2020 12 7 3 2 058.33
Republic of Ireland 4 April 2020 Present 8 0 4 4 000.00
Total 944 502 208 234 053.18
Includes competitive games only.

Honours

Manager

Individual

References
  1. https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/dundalk-lament-stephen-kennys-departure-887767.html
  2. Doyle, Garry. "Kenny well on the way to exorcising his Rovers demons". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  3. Malone, Emmet. "Dundalk's success further proof of Stephen Kenny's talents". Irish Times. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  4. Doyle, Garry. "Kenny: I considered quitting football after Rovers sacking". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  5. IFK Gothenburg 0–1 Derry City news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 16 July 2006
  6. Kenny salutes his Derry heroes news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 16 July 2006
  7. Slack Gretna given cruel lesson by five-star Derry It is also the heaviest home defeat recorded of any Scottish team in European competition. Stephen Halliday, sport.scotsman.com. Retrieved 12 August 2006
  8. "Derry see off St Pat's in decider". BBC Sport website. 3 December 2006.
  9. McDonnell, Daniel. "'It's great to have Martin O'Neill saying things like that about a League of Ireland player' - Daryl Horgan". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  10. "Kenny appointed Dunfermline boss". BBC Sport website. 10 November 2006.
  11. "Dunfermline 2–1 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport website. 18 November 2006.
  12. "Pars part company with boss Kenny". BBC News. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  13. "Kenny returns as Derry City boss". BBC News. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/news/35-news/2979-stephen-kenny-
  16. "Five managers in as many years – now stability at last for Dundalk?". The Argus. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  17. "St Pat's Athletic 2-0 Dundalk". rte.ie. RTÉ. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  18. "Dundalk crowned Premier Division champions". RTÉ. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2019 – via www.rte.ie.
  19. "Dundalk are crowned EA Sports Cup champions". RTÉ. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2019 – via www.rte.ie.
  20. Leahy, Ed (8 November 2015). "Dundalk do the double with extra-time FAI Cup win". RTÉ. Retrieved 23 June 2019 – via www.rte.ie.
  21. "Dundalk are crowned the Airtricity League Premier Division champions for the third time in a row". Irish Independent. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  22. Crawley, Darren (20 July 2016). "Superb McMillan the difference as Dundalk sparkle in Iceland". The Irish Times – via www.irishtimes.com.
  23. McLaughlin, Gavin (2 August 2016). "Dundalk down BATE to progress in Champions League". RTÉ – via www.rte.ie.
  24. "Full Time Summary Play-Offs 1st leg – Wednesday 17 August 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  25. McLaughlin, Gavin (23 August 2016). "Brave Dundalk exit Champions League in Poland". RTÉ – via www.rte.ie.
  26. McLaughlin, Gavin (15 September 2016). "Kilduff snatches historic point for 10-man Dundalk". RTÉ – via www.rte.ie.
  27. McLaughlin, Gavin (29 September 2016). "Dundalk claim historic Euro win against Maccabi". RTÉ – via www.rte.ie.
  28. McLaughlin, Gavin (16 September 2017). "DFC – McMillan's early goal has Dundalk Tallaght-fornia dreaming yet again!". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  29. "Preston North End: Andy Boyle & Daryl Horgan join from Dundalk". BBC.com. BBC. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  30. McLaughlin, Gavin (18 January 2018). "DFC – PEAK6 backed American takeover of Dundalk FC finally confirmed". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  31. Reilly, Caoimhín (19 October 2018). "Dundalk secure record league points tally as Hoban scores 29th goal of the season". Journal Media. Retrieved 23 June 2019 – via www.the42.ie.
  32. Leahy, Ed (4 November 2018). "McEleney the hero as Dundalk complete the double". RTÉ. Retrieved 23 June 2019 – via www.rte.ie.
  33. McLaughlin, Gavin (25 November 2018). "DFC – FAI confirm Kenny's departure from Dundalk FC to take up job with Irish U21s". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  34. "'It's in writing' - Stephen Kenny confirms he'll be replacing McCarthy after Euro 2020 - no matter what". Irish Independent. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  35. "Stephen Hero: The remarkable rise of Ireland's manager-in-waiting". The 42. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  36. "New Ireland U21 boss Stephen Kenny admits he is unlikely to see out qualifying campaign". The 42. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  37. "'I'll promote players that are Irish' - Kenny sets out stall as Irish U21s manager". The 42. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  38. "Republic of Ireland: McCarthy 'hugely disappointed' but 'fully understands decision'". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  39. "Late Duffy header spares Kenny a debut defeat in Bulgaria". The 42. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  40. "Ireland's Euros dream over in shoot-out defeat to Slovakia". The 42. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  41. "Ireland's Euro dream ends on penalties - as it happened". RTE Sport. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  42. "Republic of Ireland 0 Bulgaria 0". BBC Sport. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  43. "Ireland's miserable run continues with goalless draw against Bulgaria". The 42. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  44. "The English video is a non-issue - Stephen Kenny's real problem is that the story went public". The 42. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
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  46. Power, Bairbre. "Irish Tatler Man 'Men of the Year' awards - Kennedy, Kenny and McMahon among winners". Irish Independent. independent.ie. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  47. Kelly, Niall. "Stephen Kenny wins Philips Sports Manager of the Year award". The 42. the42.ie. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  48. "Stephen Kenny lands RTÉ Manager of the Year award". RTÉ Sport. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
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