Former Ireland midfielder Glen Whelan has criticised ex-Ireland manager Stephen Kenny for selecting Irish players despite their lack of game time with their clubs and added that he doubted that some Ireland players were even good enough to wear the shirt.
Kenny, who was relieved of his duties with Ireland last month, came under scrutiny for his tenure. The inability to beat smaller sides and the reluctance to deviate from certain formations ultimately cost the former League of Ireland boss his job with Ireland.
The national side also plummeted from 34th to 58th in the world rankings, their worst ranking in decades.
Whelan, who played 91 times for his country, said in his column for the Irish Independent that he believes some current Irish players shouldn't have been picked due to their infrequent game time with their club sides. He admits that this is something that has to change when the new Ireland boss is appointed by the FAI.
"Under some Ireland managers, but especially under Stephen Kenny, I felt there were too many lads who were not playing for their clubs but were still getting picked to play for their nation, and that needs to change," he said in his column.
Stephen Kenny (mage: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)"I felt I had to be playing well for my club before I could think about playing for Ireland, but certain players with certain reputations felt they had a divine right to play for their country—but were not fighting to play for their club."
Kenny gave several younger players their senior Irish debuts. Some believe that Kenny's promotion of certain younger players will benefit the next Irish boss, but Whelan does not believe some of the younger players deserve their Ireland caps under Kenny.
“He had a tough time with the turnover of players; he said he would give young players a chance, but I’m not sure that some of them deserved to be winning senior caps," he added.
"If you look at the results, it was disappointing, as we had some draws and defeats that were disappointing, and under another manager, they might have been wins. It’s about getting points, and Ireland under Stephen didn’t do enough of that; it needed to change."
