Richie Sadlier: New contract for Stephen Kenny no longer credible

A new contract for Stephen Kenny is no longer credible, believes Richie Sadlier, following Sunday's defeat to the Netherlands, which ended any chance of the Republic of Ireland qualifying automatically for Euro 2024.

After taking an early lead against the Dutch, courtesy of Adam Idah's converted penalty, there was hope that Kenny's side could could go on to get a vital victory and finally kickstart their campaign.

However, the Dutch hit back after 19 minutes with a spot-kick of their own as Cody Gakpo dispatched the penalty.

Ireland had no response once substitute Wout Weghourst added a second early in the second half as Ronald Koeman's side closed out a 2-1 victory.

The Group B table does not make pretty viewing for the Irish, with just the one win from five games. A home tie against Greece and away encounters against Gibraltar and Netherlands will round out qualifying, but no doubt the talk will now centre on the manager and whether he will be in charge for those final three games and a potential play-off in March.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport, in the aftermath of the Dutch loss at the Aviva Stadium, a somewhat dejected Stephen Kenny was adamant he will still be in charge for the remaining group games, though he did not speculate beyond that.

"Yeah absolutely, we've two matches in October, Greece and Gibraltar, and then Holland in Amsterdam. After that, that’s certainly not my decision. We have to see if we have the play-off in March, there’s still a chance."

As for being involved in the last-chance saloon series next spring, Albania's win over Poland at the weekend was one outcome that did not help Ireland's cause, though the full picture won't be known until the conclusion of the qualifiers.

Former Ireland international Sadlier,