Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash

Stephen Kenny will not allow speculation over his future to become a distraction as the Republic of Ireland attempt to end a dismal Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on a positive note.

Ireland face Group B minnows Gibraltar in Faro on Monday evening in their penultimate fixture, having won only one of the six which have preceded it with automatic qualification now beyond them and retaining only a slim chance of reaching the play-offs after Friday night’s 2-0 defeat by Greece.

That has inevitably led to calls for the manager’s head, with the Republic having missed out on the finals of every major tournament since Euro 2016.

However, asked if that noise might prove a distraction, Kenny, who last week received assurances from Football Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill, said: “No.

“I have to be realistic. Jonathan Hill perfectly clarified it when he said that ‘Stephen would be the manager until the games in November’, and they’ll have a review and assess that.

“At the moment, that’s out of my control. In this camp, it was important to try and win against Greece. We haven’t managed to do that, I understand that, that it’s not a good result for us.

“But from my point of view, I am contracted to the end of the campaign so I just want to finish the campaign strong. If there is a play-off, we can assess that, but finish the campaign strong and take it from there.”

Ireland’s only win so far came against Gibraltar in June, when goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah secured a 3-0 victory which was less comfortable than the scoreline suggests.

Anything other than a repeat against a team which has lost all of its 43 European and World Cup qualifiers to date would represent fresh humiliation for an