Stephen Kenny reluctant to resign amid play-off possibility

Stephen Kenny has confirmed that he has no intention of resigning ahead of the culmination of his contract as coach of the national team.

The under-fire manager has two group games left in the current qualification campaign, and while Ireland have no chance of making it to Germany based on the current standings, there remains a possibility of securing a Euro 2024 play-off in March.

There has been constant speculation regarding the manager's future in the role beyond his current contract as a result of the string of poor results, most notably the double defeat to Greece, losing home and away to Gus Poyet’s charges.

But Kenny is determined to finish the campaign and determined to finish with some strong performances, starting with the away game in Faro against bottom side Gibraltar.

From there, it is on to the Netherlands in Amsterdam next month, followed by a friendly clash against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium.

"I'm not considering resigning," said Kenny, speaking at the pre-match press conference. "My contact is to the end of the campaign and I will finish it.

"We want to finish the campaign strongly and we are very determined to do that. After that it’s completely out of my control. I have no control over the rest."

The FAI confirmed recently that Kenny would be in charge until those games are completed and they will then undertake a review of the entire qualifying campaign.

The manager added that he did not need clarification regarding his contract, and while the FAI review will take place ahead of the play-offs, Kenny is convinced that his contract would run to March if Ireland were to sneak into one of the available places.

"It's until the end of the campaign," said Kenny when asked does his current contract include the