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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Brian Kerr accused of having "bitter vendetta" against Stephen Kenny as fans weigh in on comments

Brian Kerr's comments on Stephen Kenny have been met with a mixed reaction from Republic of Ireland fans.

Pressure is mounting on Kenny again following Ireland's disappointing 2-1 loss to Greece in Athens on Friday night.

Former Ireland boss Kerr didn't hold back in his criticism of the ex-Dundalk manager following the match, saying Kenny has "not been getting the job done".

READ MORE: No escaping the mediocrity of an Ireland team still incapable of finding a consistent streak - and that's on Stephen Kenny

He said on Virgin Media: "He's has unprecedented support in the job, Stephen, both resources wise and I'd say given results wise. His results are actually the worst out of any manager that's ever managed Ireland.

"And yet it has been non-stop support from the association. Four days in Bristol, nine or ten days in Turkey for acclimatisation.

"It's an association that is crying out for money, and there's loads of money being spent on the team. He's not been getting the job done, he has had four wins in 23 competitive games, 12 defeats. We've been out of the last three tournaments after two or three games.

"His aim was to win the Nations League group, we didn't and we got nowhere in it. His aim was to be competitive in this group and qualify. It was going to be difficult after the draw but we would have expected that we were going to go to Greece with all that preparation and all that investment and play well."

A number of fans agreed with Kerr's comments and feel time could be almost up for Kenny as Ireland boss.

One comment read: "Kerr puts forward a good argument, this squad may be poor in comparison to previous years, but the manager must prepare the team tactically and ensure they know what to expect on the day."

Another person tweeted: "Everything he just said is bang on."

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny (Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)

Someone else said: "Nailed it Kerr, Been saying it since day 1 Kenny isn't good enough for this level of football. Over 3 years and not 1 bit of progress, where's this exciting, entertaining pressing possession football we were promised?"

One other comment read: "Time is up for Kenny but Kerr's bitter vendetta against him from the start has been obvious. Fairly ugly stuff."

But others highlighted Kerr's own stint as Ireland boss and felt the criticism was unfair.

One said: "Far better players at his disposal. didn't qualify... harping on about it not being fair that SK got a couple of go's at it.. think that's his real gripe..unfortunately I don't think SK can get them to the next level although I do admire his philosophy.!"

Another commented: "Same Brian Kerr who had Duff, both Keane’s, Given , Richard Dunne and did nothing with them."

Someone else tweeted: "Is this the same Brian Kerr who failed to qualify in his stint as Irish manager with what was still perceived the majority of our Golden generation."

"He’s not one to talk considering we had far better players under him when he was manager," read another comment.

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