New Galway boss reveals managerial influences

Jeff Kenna yesterday revealed that his style of management will, in part, be based on the influence of his playing days under the tutelage of then Blackburn now Fulham boss Roy Hodgson.

Kenna explained that although he was feeling the full gamut of emotions before he took his first training session, he felt that he would be able to draw on all the experiences from 20 years in professional football in England - both good and bad - and use them to his advantage in developing his own personal style of management.

Surprisingly, given that he won a Premiership winners medal under Kenny Dalglish, the former Irish international instead chose Roy Hodgson’s modus operandi as the role model for his future career in club management.

Although he only worked under Hodgson during the Englishman‘s short tenure at Ewood Park, the spell obviously left a big impression on the Dubliner. “He was very hands on, took a lot of the training and was very instrumental in how the club was run. So certainly I would look to him as a big influence”.

Understanding that he was now entering a new phase of his footballing life, Kenna acknowledged that “it is obviously a case of stopping thinking as a player and putting on the coach’s/manager’s hat. I suppose there will be occasions when I do look at things as a player as opposed to a manager.

“I’m quite honest enough to know that I’m going to make mistakes along the way, I’ll be big enough to admit to that, but I’m just hoping that they won’t be catastrophic ones”.

Under no illusions as to how daunting the task at hand is, Kenna stated that he was relishing the fantastic opportunity to prove himself that he had just been presented by Galway United.

When asked what type of style he would like his team to play, Kenna was refreshingly pragmatic. “I’d like to play lovely, flowing, attractive football, but until I get to know the playing squad inside out, and how they like to play the game, that might be something that we look at in the future.

“Primarily, obviously, I’ve got to stop us conceding goals. We’re not scoring and we’re conceding too many. So, realistically, I’ve got to start at the back, shore that up, and then worry about playing nice, attractive football maybe later in the season when we’re sitting nicely in mid-table”.

A mid-table position is something everyone involved in Galway United would gladly accept, as a side low on confidence and without a win prepare for the visit of Bray Wanderers to Terryland Park on Friday night.