Declan Kidney has played down rumours about his future as Ireland head coach, during the build up to the Six Nations match against France.
Kidney’s current contract with the IRFU expires in the summer, but after a poor campaign this season, there have been plenty of supporters calling for his head. The decision ultimately rests with the IRFU, and for now, at least, Kidney only has concerns about the French match:
“I haven’t been thinking about that, really,” Kidney said when asked about his future.
“My only concern is to help the team do as well they can. That’s my whole reason for being here. We have another match in nine days’ time and that’s all that I’m concentrating on.”
Ireland looked the better side against Scotland in their last game, but were unable to make possession count and ended up suffering an embarrassing defeat. Hot on the heels of a beating by the old enemy England, meant that the managers future has now come under question.
Despite the defeats, the team has not been playing that poorly this season, and Kidney feels it is only a matter of time before it all comes together on the pitch:
“When any team evolves, as this one is doing, it takes a period of time when you’re going to be knocking on the door,” he told the Irish Examiner.
“You try not to knock on the door for too long, and then they’ll get a win and a lot of things will kick into place. And they are knocking on the door, that’s the frustrating thing about it.
“The recurring theme is that you could say, well, we’ve tried not to make excuses but if one pass went to hand, then all of a sudden a whole lot of things change. So it’s a case of staying the course with it.”
