Kenny gets his job with the challenge of top-oven finish

Garrett Kelleher has been tasked with his new St. Patrick's Athletic Manager Harry Kenny with a mission to mount a top-four challenge next season.

Kenny spent the 2013 title-winning season as Liam Buckley and returned to Inchicore with a field of quality rival candidates.

Since Buckley quit four weeks ago, Paul Doolin, Fenlon Pat, Kenny Cunningham and Gerard Nash were all interviewed about the vacancy.

Kenny took up his only managerial role in April 2016 at Bray Wanderers, his patience with a catalog of off-field instability finally running out after 16 months when he walked away a year ago.

Much of Buckley's frustration in the final years of a successful seven-year spell in Inchicore stemmed from having to operate with a restricted budget.

Revival

Despite the Saints having failed to qualify for a new year, the club boss expects the new boss, who leaves his coaching role in the FAI, to engineer a revival.

"We look forward to the next chapter at the club and expect to be challenging at the table in 2019," said the property developer, whose multi-million dollar investment has been afloat over the past decade.

Meanwhile, three of Dundalk's title winners make up the shortlist for the PFAI Player of the Year award.

Chris Shields, Michael Duffy and top scorer Patrick Hoban, have been nominated by Stephen Kenny's Lilywhites in the team of the season.

Cork City provide two representatives in Kieran Sadlier and Sean McLoughlin – as do Bohemians, with Darragh Leahy and goalkeeper Shane Supple. Waterford midfielder Bastien Héry completes the line-up.

PFAI TEAM OF YEAR – S Supple (Bohemians); S Gannon (Dundalk), S Hoare (Dundalk), S McLoughlin (Cork City); D Leahy (Bohemians); R Benson (Dundalk), C Shields (Dundalk), B Hery (Waterford); K Sadlier (Cork City), Hoban P (Dundalk), M Duffy (Dundalk)

Irish Independent