Preview: Victory over Scotland vital to get Kenny's new era back on track

Stephen Kenny had high hopes coming into the four-game international window to begin the 2022 UEFA Nations League.

A freshly signed contract taking his Ireland position up to the 2024 European Championships, Kenny was planning to showcase his new-look side throughout the six-game shoot-out with home and away games against Ukraine, Scotland and Armenia, the final two games set for September.

Little did he expect that two games in there would be a narrative building against his tenancy in the nation's top job with the Euro 2024 qualifiers still over nine months away from commencing.

Everybody assumed that Ireland would open their campaign with a straightforward victory away in Armenia, and had that been the case, the close contest against Ukraine on Wednesday may not have attracted as much attention as it has.

Kenny’s side appeared to have the template to beat these perceived weaker teams, overpowering them early to get that vital first goal and then ease to victory, however, things did not go to plan in Yerevan.

A dominating performance in Armenia, perhaps, combined with a decent outing against Ukraine, had these been friendly games, there would have been arguments to overlook, with soaring temperatures and end of season fatigue to be taken into account.

Those naysayers driven by results had been virtually silenced throughout the second half of 2021 and into the March 2022 window as Kenny’s men went on an eight-game unbeaten streak.

But now they are starting to get vocal again, and the decibel level will only increase should Ireland fail to beat Scotland at Lansdowne Road tonight. An even tougher task awaits in Poland on Tuesday as Ukraine should be back to full strength and it could add more fuel to the fire.

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