Former Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has wished his successor, Heimir Hallgrímsson, well in his new role.
The Icelandic native finally replaced Kenny after several long months and will take charge of the team for the upcoming Nations League games this autumn.
It would be assumed that Kenny wouldn't hold fond memories of his Ireland departure and would have little to say about his replacement, but the opposite is true.
The Pats boss has backed the new Ireland boss, Hallgrímsson, to succeed in his new role.
“I have never met him, but I want to wish him good luck in his role," Kenny told the Irish Mirror.
“I want to wish him well. I genuinely mean that, and I hope he gets every success. There is a really talented group of players there who are playing at a very high level and who have an accumulation of caps under their belt, and I think it is quite a strong squad now.
“It is a different picture and a good opportunity—a very good opportunity—for a manager to come in now.”
Kenny before the international friendly match against New Zealand at the Aviva (Image: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images) )In other news, Kenny has also claimed that the FAI and Manchester United were in talks to hold another glamour tie at the Aviva Stadium in the future. A League of Ireland XI and a United side have been touted to play a game in the capital once more.
Kenny admitted that the former FAI chief executive, Jonathan Hill, and United bosses were in advanced talks a number of months ago. However, a date has not been set yet.
United last came to Dublin to play the Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in 2023.
"We were in advanced talks on a couple of occasions with Jonathan Hill about playing English Premier League teams in the Aviva Stadium. That was the plan. A match against Manchester United was mentioned. That was going to happen, but they couldn't make the dates work at the time and made a commitment for the future," he added.
“It would have been in their pre-season, and it would have been a League of Ireland selection, national league selection, against Manchester United. There were discussions, but these things are not always easy because of finance, number one, and number two, the availability of players outside the international windows. I think overall it's a positive idea.”
