{"id":25636,"date":"2022-03-28T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T15:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25636"},"modified":"2022-03-30T09:52:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T13:52:55","slug":"keith-andrews-praises-kennys-strength-of-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25636","title":{"rendered":"Keith Andrews Praises Kenny’s ‘Strength Of Character’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Stephen Kenny failed to win any of his first 10 games as Ireland boss, a return which led to criticism of both his appointment and methods (PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keith Andrews has praised Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny\u2019s strength of character after watching him battle his way through a difficult start to his reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny failed to win any of his first 10 games as Ireland boss, a return which led to criticism of both his appointment and methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he stood firm and has since been rewarded with a sequence of 11 games which has included just a single defeat \u2013 away to Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Portugal \u2013 and culminated in Saturday\u2019s 2-2 draw with world number one side Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny will send his side into friendly battle with Lithuania on Tuesday night having recently signed a contract extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked how he had been behind the scenes during that difficult early period, assistant Andrews said: \u201cHe was very composed, always very much sticking to the principles and the belief he has in what the players are capable of achieving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course we\u2019d make little tweaks here and there, but he\u2019s a very strong individual and I thought he dealt with it remarkably well because there were some not very nice days that we had to endure. You\u2019ve got to take it on the chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI say it to him quite often about when I go back into my local butcher\u2019s, they\u2019re quick to tell me about we should and shouldn\u2019t be doing, and sometimes it\u2019s not particularly pleasant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut during that process, he stood really firm. It would be very, very easy as the manager to maybe stake a step back, to sacrifice, maybe, some of your values, your principles for a short-term view, but he stood by it and obviously I was in full support of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Ireland midfielder Andrews first spoke out in defense of Kenny in September last year and, while he admits results will always determine a manager\u2019s future, he firmly believed the team were always heading in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cFootball being football, it\u2019s always results-dependent, and you\u2019re always beholden to the powers that be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not development football, we\u2019re in big boys\u2019 football here, that\u2019s the nature of the business that ultimately if results didn\u2019t come, then decisions have to be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike I said, we felt we were in a good place even though the results hadn\u2019t been good, we were comfortable with what we were putting in place and the results did come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrews was drafted into the international set-up by former manager Giovanni Trapattoni, whose safety-first approach paid dividends, but did not necessarily win admirers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny\u2019s approach is more expansive and while his team remains a work in progress, Andrews shares his philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cThe Ireland team that I played in was very well organized, very difficult to break down. The main focus was what we did without the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a big reliance on the technical players with most ability, in an attacking sense. It was based around that with a manager who probably didn\u2019t have enough belief in what we could do, or was stuck in the way he had always seen the game and the way he always coached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStephen and myself see it differently and have tried to take the team in a different direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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