Conan Byrne: Stephen Kenny has achieved huge turnaround at St Pat's

Former St Patrick's Athletic midfielder Conan Byrne says the dynamic wing-play that has characterised Stephen Kenny's past successful teams is beginning to reveal itself at his former club.

The ex-Republic of Ireland manager, handed a five-year contract at Richmond Park when appointed back in May, unprecedented in the context of the League of Ireland, made a slow start at Pat's, collecting just five points from his first six games.

However, in Europe, wins over Vaduz and Sabah have carried them to within one round of the Europa Conference League group stage, with Kenny's new signing Zach Elbouzedi - former Republic of Ireland U21 star - scoring the winner in Azerbaijan.

"That dynamic wing-play that Stephen Kenny has been renowned for over the years in the League of Ireland has come to the fore again with St Pat's," Byrne said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

"Bringing in (Zach) Elbouzedi from AIK on one wing, and then keeping (Jake) Mulraney out wide on the other, it's had a key impact and they combined for the goal to send them through.

"It's just something I think Pat's lacked, that creative spark in the final third, through the course of the season. And now they're unbeaten in six games, they're unbeaten in Europe in four. It's a huge turnaround.

"There was talk of... where was the bounce back when Stephen Kenny came in. Well, here it is."

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The win has taken Pat's to within one round of the Europa Conference League group stages, a potential outcome which Kenny has branded a "life-changer" for his players.

However, first they've to navigate the daunting challenge of Istanbul Basaksehir, Turkish champions back in 2020, who famously humbled