STEPHEN KENNY: “I wouldn’t underestimate us for one moment” | Hopes & Aspirations for the new season | Summer Football | LOI 2026 Season Launch
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Word on the Street on Off the Ball.
Unfortunately, I think my word in the studio is just going to be nuance. Nuance?
Yeah, it's kind of good. That's just my word in the studio. Word on the Street, available now on Go Loud app. Off the Ball. All right, Stephen, new season coming around. What a way to start it. You get to go to the Aviva Stadium, the game against your rivals, Bowles, to kick things off. What a way to start.
Yeah, no, it is a new development, of course, over the last couple of years. And it's great to kick it off in the Aviva Stadium. It's great for the players, really, and supporters. So looking forward to that.
I always think it's a nice way to have it on weekend one, too, as well. Like, it's a reason to get into the home virus football, play a game. As you say, give the lads a chance to run out of the Aviva. Unless you get to the Cup final, you won't touch it for the rest of the season.
What are Stephen Kenny's hopes for the new season?
So it's been a nice development the last couple of years.
Yeah, it's an underutilised stadium from a football point of view, for sure. up to in the last decades only cup finals have been back there and it's only right so it's great that the league games are there. It means we can get a much bigger attendance of course at the first game and it's something the players look forward to because the winter months starting on it because it's come back it used to be March and then come back a week every year and now it's Now it starts February the 6th, airs February the 8th, so you're in the midst of winter in your first game of the summer soccer season. So it's always a test, so it's good that it's in a good venue like that and the pitch will be good, so that's excellent.
Do you like the fact the season starts a little bit earlier now? I know I've seen Bradley talk about this a few times and you were up to contend with last year as well. Do you like the way that window has kind of crept back a little bit?
Yeah, I don't mind. I don't mind at all.
How has the Aviva Stadium impacted the start of the season?
I think you want the fixtures to be reasonable over the season. You don't complain about it. When you are in Europe, you get those five games put back in, in two weeks, periods, twice. But listen, I've no complaints at all. Yeah, it's the way it should be.
If you don't mind me asking you about summer football generally, obviously it's very much in the conversation at the moment because of the idea of having a calendar year has now been kind of kicked down the road a little bit. What's your feeling on it for the teams that are further down the football pyramid and particularly for underage in this country? Do you think an overall summer football scheme is the way to go or what's your feeling about it?
Yeah, and I've lived, like I've managed in the Midlands and Longford and I've obviously lived in the Inishowen Peninsula for over a decade. So I've lived in different parts. My kids have played with Alia on Inch Island. That's good. They've played in Derry. They've played in Dundalk. for Key Celtic and Rock Celtic and Dundalk so you know we've played in different parts obviously managed clubs in Dublin and in Longford so I've a good feeling of Scuba clubs throughout the country yeah listen just don't have the climate that you can play in in the winter and we just don't have the climate that gets any sort of quality we don't have the facilities to accommodate that so it it's only right that it would be from uh you know from through the summer months i know the two aspects are obviously always classes with the ga and if you're from
My kids played for Burt in Inishowen and played for Alia at that time. So you're Ferdinand children from one to the other. My wife mainly was Siobhan because I was obviously you know, busy with Dundalk at the time, but I think the, so it's, I do understand that and I do think that you will lose players and so forth. People in rural areas, I wouldn't say it's an urban-rural thing because the DDSL were, They weren't in favour of it either last year, is that right? So it's complex. I know you can't say it's one size fits all either, but I think it is a complex situation because obviously summer holidays is a factor, but people are entitled to their summer holidays, but they can do that.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:47
2
What are Stephen Kenny's hopes for the new season?
0:47–1:46
3
How has the Aviva Stadium impacted the start of the season?
1:46–8:40
4
What are the challenges of starting the season earlier?
8:40–11:31
5
What is Stephen Kenny's perspective on summer football?
11:31–24:36
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from OTB Football
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