Uefa Conference League – second round qualifier: St Patrick’s Athletic v FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein), Richmond Park, Thursday, 7.45pm
Since St Patrick’s Athletic and Stephen Kenny agreed a five-year contract, that would ideally see the former Republic of Ireland manager guide the Inchicore club towards the standards set by Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne, the team has won three games, drawn three and lost five.
This leaves them seventh in the Premier Division, only six points clear of a relegation play-off, which indicates that St Pat’s are not equipped to qualify for the Uefa Conference League group stages.
Their most recent result, a 3-0 defeat to Derry City in the FAI Cup last Sunday, removes any hope of St Pat’s experiencing European football in 2025. So there is a legitimate concern that the visit of FC Vaduz, the Liechtenstein cup winners that compete in the Swiss second tier, is an unwanted distraction.
But try selling that theory to the 2,500 St Pat’s season ticket holders who will cram into Richmond Park on Thursday (Uefa decreed that the capacity of the Dublin 8 ground must be halved to meet health and safety rules).
Also try selling that theory to Kenny as he held court after St Pat’s training in Abbotstown, a stone’s throw from where he used to conduct media briefings as Ireland manager.
“No, listen, I knew what I took on,” said Kenny. “I realised, when I looked with my eyes, it was going to be a difficult job but that’s what I am motivated to do.
“Consistently, when I took over at Bohemians, they were ninth and the following year won the league; Derry were ninth and they lost the league the following year by a point and won trophies; Dundalk were a team that were bottom and we won the league within two years.
“That’s sort of what I like to do, take a team from the bottom and revitalise a team quickly, if I can, not over a longer period but over a shorter period. That’s what I enjoy, rebuilding; that’s what motivates me.”
St Pat’s might present the most difficult challenge of Kenny’s career as Shamrock Rovers and Shels are primed to pull away from other League of Ireland clubs in the 2020s, with the exception of Derry, despite the Candystripes’ exit to a club from Gibraltar last week.
Unfortunately, Derry losing to Bruno Magpies and St Pat’s potentially stumbling against a second-tier Swiss outfit is the cold, hard reality of where Irish football currently resides.
“I can’t really concern myself with that,” said Kenny. “I can only focus on the game. We know [Vaduz] have some good players. They are a very possession-based team. Their coach [Marc Schneider] has a De Zerbi-type philosophy in that they try to play out of a lot of areas.
“I can’t worry about the implications, the perceptions. We’ve just got to make sure we are ready.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get our attack right. Mason Melia played up front for us on Sunday and he will most likely lead the line again. He’s played very well overall but it was a tough game on Sunday. He has a lot of attributes and I think he is getting better.”
Kenny is keenly aware that St Pat’s are relying too heavily on a 16-year-old striker to turn their fortunes around. Ruairi Keating, a proven goalscorer signed from Cork City, is injured so Melia will seek to add to his three league goals from 24 league appearances.
“I think his [Melia’s] attitude is very good,” added Kenny, clearly cautious when speaking about a boy operating in a man’s world. “He’s from Newtownmountkennedy, down there, and his mam drives him up every day. He is just very game, always closing people down rapidly, always working hard. He is a threat on the last line, he’s brave.
“Obviously there are still areas of improvement but he is versatile. He has done well. It’s still early days for him. It is unusual to have someone so young playing in such a central position, leading the line, it’s normally a different position. It is unusual and I suppose a bit unexpected, so we’ll see.”
That about sums up St Pat’s under Kenny – we’ll see.
One certainly is that Al-Amin Kazeem, the club’s new signing, has been ruled out with a muscle strain.
If St Pat’s do prevail over two legs, they will face the winners of Maccabi Haifa of Israel and Azerbaijani side Sabah in the third round of qualifying.
Of equal importance, however, is four August fixtures against Sligo Rovers, Galway United, Dundalk and Drogheda United because the situation can rapidly get worse than it currently is.
“A victory would help confidence all around.”
