Bohs cruise to Europe

By Aidan Fitzmaurice

He has conquered the Republic of Ireland, now Stephen Kenny, manager of Dublin side Bohemian FC, has set himself a new target: succeeding in Europe.

First champions
Last Sunday's 1-0 win over city rivals Shelbourne FC gave Bohemians the Premier Division title with two games remaining, making them Europe's first league champions of 2003. A second league title in three years is a big achievement for a club whose reputation as one of Ireland's big teams has not been matched in the past by trophy success - they went 23 years without winning the title from 1978 to 2001.

European target
But Kenny, at 31 the youngest manager in Ireland, is not content with domestic success. He is determined to make his mark in European football and will spend the next few months preparing not just the start of the new Irish season in April, but for the club's UEFA Champions League campaign.

Disappointing record
While Ireland's national team have enjoyed success on the world stage, Irish sides have failed to match that at club level. It is only twice in the last few years has a club from Ireland won a tie in the Champions League - in 2000 Shelbourne beat Macedonian side FK Sloga Jugomagnat and a year later Bohemians defeated Estonians FC Levadia Maardu.

Grim statistics
That was a major improvement - in one season in the mid 1990s Ireland's sides playing in Europe's three competitions failed to score a goal in their six matches, let alone win a match. Now Kenny wants to raise the standard again.

'The next level'
"We needed to win this league title to take the team to the next level. This title was the difficult first step, but now I want to take the team on," Kenny said. "We have to do it again next season - and do ourselves justice in Europe. If I can get the resources I can take this team to the next level."

Sensational performance
The title is a huge vindication for Kenny personally. Having started in management with Longford Town FC in Ireland's first division in 1998 when he was only 26, the Dubliner established himself by leading his side to unheard-of success - promotion to the Premier Division, an FAI Cup final appearance and entry into the UEFA Cup.

Bitter memories
He was the natural choice for Bohemians when they sought a successor to Pete Mahon in December 2001, but Kenny had his critics and the message boards of Bohemians websites debated if Kenny was a "bottler", unable to make the leap from being a promising young manager into a winning one. It was noted that Kenny ended up on the losing side in the two biggest games of his managerial career - the 2001 FAI Cup final, which his Longford team lost to Bohemians, and the 2002 final when Kenny's Bohemians side were overcome by Dundalk FC.

Personal vindication
Now he has silenced the doubters. "Questions would have been asked if we hadn't won this season - the knives would have been out for me," Kenny admitted. He will be busy in the close season when the championship ends on 25 January, trying to bring in new players.

Long-term deals
But he already has most of his team in place as Bohemians' top players such as international striker Glen Crowe, captain Kevin Hunt, defender Colin Hawkins and winger Bobby Ryan – scorer of the late winner against Shelbourne - were all signed up on long-term contracts last summer. Much of the groundwork has been done, but for Bohemians, the 2003/04 Champions League campaign starts here.