{"id":26493,"date":"2022-06-10T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T14:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26493"},"modified":"2022-06-10T10:50:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T14:50:13","slug":"kenny-not-feeling-pressure-before-nations-league-clash-with-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26493","title":{"rendered":"Kenny Not Feeling Pressure Before Nations League Clash With Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has insisted he does not feel under pressure despite presiding over a losing start to the new Nations League campaign (PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Kenny will send his Republic of Ireland team into Nations League battle with Scotland insisting he does not feel under pressure after a winless start to the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland face the Scots at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday having lost their opening two fixtures \u2013 Armenia in Yerevan and Ukraine in Dublin \u2013 to extend their run without a victory in the competition to 12 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps more worryingly, the Republic have won only two of the 17 competitive games they have played under Kenny, although he remains defiant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cNo, I don\u2019t feel pressure, only internal, disappointed that we\u2019ve not got points on the board and professional pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCertainly I feel disappointed with that, that we don\u2019t have points on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland headed into their four June fixtures in good heart after putting together an eight-game unbeaten run with their only defeat in the previous 12 away to Portugal, where a late Cristiano Ronaldo masterclass snatched victory from their grasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny has tried to introduce a more expansive style of football, promoting from the Under-21 ranks in an effort to bring fresh ideas and legs into his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wins over Andorra, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Luxembourg, albeit against modest opposition, suggested they were moving in the right direction, but they were painfully blunt against Armenia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny said: \u201cWe had a good run where from March to March we scored 23 goals, which is a really high amount for an international team. Then we have come up in the last two games and come up short in front of goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean everything is wrong, it just means we haven\u2019t capitalized on the opportunities that we\u2019ve been given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to improve in that regard and we have to make sure we all work hard and believe in what we are doing and hit the back of the net.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenny is likely to make changes, some of them forced \u2013 Seamus Coleman, who missed the Ukraine match with a groin injury, has left the camp and fellow defender John Egan turned an ankle in midweek \u2013 but others in an attempt to inject a fresh spark into his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked if he felt recent opponents had worked Ireland out, Kenny said: \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case with Ukraine. They played a system based on the players they had available, so I don\u2019t think that was the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArmenia defensively did a job on us and we didn\u2019t take the chances that we had on the night, so that was a disappointment. I think against Ukraine, I couldn\u2019t have asked any more of the players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was disappointed with Armenia, losing that. It\u2019s a game we shouldn\u2019t be losing. Against Ukraine, even though we are disappointed to lose the game, of course we are, I felt every player gave absolutely everything of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine are a good team. I know they had a lot of chances. So did we

buy cheap kamagra online<\/a><\/p> , but not as many as they had.\u201d<\/p>\n

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