Ireland players today gave new first-team coach John Eustace the thumbs up after his first day on the job.
And they also hailed Stephen Kenny’s contract renewal as a clear sign that the national team is going places and in safe hands.
QPR assistant manager Eustace - a former Coventry City, Watford and Derby County midfielder - has been announced as Anthony Barry’s replacement.
Barry, the highly-regarded Chelsea coach, quit Stephen Kenny’s staff in February and joined World No 1 side Belgium, who Ireland will host at Aviva Stadium this Saturday.
But Kenny moved swiftly to hire Eustace, who turned down the Swansea City job last summer and whose old Kidderminster side were known as the ‘non-league Barcelona’.
Conor Hourihane, the Aston Villa midfielder on loan at Sheffield United, said today: “Yeah, there’s a lot going on. The last camp was November, which was a long time ago.
“Firstly, Anthony has left and gone on to a new chapter. John has come in, which is great. And the manager has got his well-deserved contract, which is great.
“Exciting times, and we feel like the last few months have gone well for us and we feel like we have turned a corner so hopefully in this camp, we can kick on again.”
Hourihane continued: “I played against John, which probably makes me feel a bit old. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Preston midfielder Alan Browne echoed the Hourihane sentiment and feels Ireland are in safe hands under Kenny as they build towards the Euro 2024 campaign next year.
The Aviva Stadium will sell-out again for the Belgium clash and Browne said: “It’s massive and it looks like we’ve turned a corner.
“Every credit to the manager and getting the fans back onside with us.
“That connection there amongst ourselves and the fans has been evident with ticket sales going through the roof, you can see that.
“So hopefully they’re taking to the new brand of football and the way that we’re trying to do things and things are looking good for us.”
Browne continued: “It’s always important to have fans on our side because they’re the ones going through the gate to pay the money to watch the football.
“Credit to the manager, he stuck to his guns, he stuck to what he wanted us to do and it is a long process as you probably know.
“He came under a lot of criticism at first but it's starting to look up now with performances and results, which is the most important thing. Long may that continue.
“We’ve got some great coaches, a great manager and the players are really striving under them so hopefully we can continue the good work.”
