Kenny signs off for summer with solemn soliliquoy

The dark clouds finally lifted and the sun shone on Stephen Kenny and his Ireland side at Lansdowne Road on Monday night as they comfortably beat Gibraltar in their Euro 2024 qualifier.

It's been a tough few weeks for the Ireland manager as the way too long, six-week build-up for the game in Greece covered every aspect of his three-year tenure, with so many column inches to fill as his side started in Bristol and then went on the road to Turkey for a nine-day warm-weather camp before their Athens arrival.

By the time kick-off arrived at the OPAP Arena, expectation for an era-defining performance was possibly at an all-time high, but 15 minutes into the game, it was clear that it was not going to be a good night for the Boys in Green in the Greek capital.

A 2-1 defeat away from home might not look too bad on paper, but it was such a let down, with very few, if any, positives to be taken from it, while the few thousand fans who made the long traipse through Europe got very little bang for their buck, not to mention the chaos trying to enter the stadium and the negotiation of a two-hour thunder and lightning storm ahead of kick-off - a spontaneous half-time rendition of Zombie via the stadium tannoy was about as good as it got in the away end.

There were no excuses from Kenny after the game, acknowledging that Greece were the better side on the night, which left a "mountain to climb" after the game, heading into the rest of the campaign.

The pre-Gibraltar press conference on Sunday revisited old ground, however, and the questions regarding his future were raised once again.

Asked did he think he would be in charge for the remainder of the campaign, Kenny responded, "definitely", while also adding later that he had no