Kenny calls on Saints to aim for ‘life-changing’ result
Stephen Kenny has called on his St Patrick’s Athletic players to make history and achieve the biggest moment of their careers tonight as they stand on the brink of qualifying for the UEFA Conference League group stage.
The Saints have never reached a European group stage before, but after last week’s scoreless first leg in Tallaght they have a fighting chance of achieving that feat going in to tonight’s playoff second leg with Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey (5.0, live on SolidSport).
The Inchicore side will bank a guaranteed €3.6m in UEFA prize money should they progress past the 2019/’20 Turkish champions, with more lucrative sums on offer for group-stage performances. Kenny has told his men to have no regrets in the Turkish heat tonight.
“For the players, it’s life-changing to be in a European group stage,” said Kenny, who will be without Romal Palmer and Cian Kavanagh through injury.
“The players have already achieved so much this year. It’s the first time an Irish team has gone five games unbeaten in Europe in one season. To go and advance would be significant in the breadth of their careers. It would be the biggest moment in all of their careers, and live with them and their families for a long time. The club has never done it before, so it would be really, really special.”
Aftercreatingheadlineslastweekwith his comments about RTÉ’s lack of coverage of League of Ireland clubs and St Pat’s fixture schedule, Kenny is determined to focus his attention on the pitch.
“I know I have been in the news, I have no desire to be in the news. I’ve been in it enough,” he added. “I just want to be on the training pitch now, on the grass and working on how we are playing. This is really about the club, the players, their journeys and how significant this would be in their lives.
“This [play-off ] is a magnificent experience in its own right, so they have to leave everything out there and play with passion. It would be a real shock but we have to give ourselves every chance.”