Stephen Kenny has revealed that watching Christian Eriksen's Euros collapse caused him to flashback to his own near death experience in Sweden.
Kenny told Off The Ball tonight that he required CPR after collapsing in Sweden in September 2019, having taken charge of the Ireland under-21s' European qualifier victory against the hosts in Kalmar.
He later had a pacemaker fitted in the country, staying on for almost a week before returning home.
And the 49-year-old admitted that he immediately feared that he would lose out on his chance to manage Ireland's senior side as Mick McCarthy's chosen successor, but he went on to take the helm in April 2020.
"Looking at Christian Eriksen's situation, I got flashbacks and saw the impact it had on the people around me," said Kenny. "Luckily, I had people around me - staff, my colleagues and friends.
"Keith Andrews, Jim Crawford, Damien Doyle, Colm O'Neill, they were all in the vicinity at the time and trying to address the situation.
"You don't know what you want, you are just delighted to exist. You are delighted to live.
"All of those staff, I trust them all implicitly. The majority are with me with the senior internationals now. I would trust them all so much.
"We have been through so much, that was a huge moment in all of our lives."
He added: "Subsequently I was informed it was an electrical issue with my heart, there was a block really. It was traumatic enough at the time really.
“They couldn’t a pulse, they couldn’t get a heart beat, apparently i turned blue, it was a serious issue. It was a blockage of electricity to the heart.
“Jim Crawford said to me the next morning, said I’m not going to lie to you Stephen but I thought you were dead."
Kenny has previously chosen to keep the details of his health scare private, but had insisted it had nothing to do with the stress of the job.
Recalling the night in question, Kenny described it as a baptism of fire for the FAI's under-17s doctor Mortimer O'Connor, who was covering for Ronan Kearney.
"He chose that weekend to get married, which was nice of him," laughed Kenny.
"I wasn't feeling well, and I just collapsed. I've been informed since that (performance coach) Damien Doyle did CPR while the doctor got the defibrillator. The paramedics were on the scene very quickly.
"All of the players had gone through, and some staff, it was just a certain number of staff that had stayed with myself because they knew I wasn't well.
"The players didn't see it because they had gone through, but there was a big scene at the airport."
He added: "I was concerned because there was this succession plan, but until you are appointed manager then you are never certain about how things are going to go.
"I think I was concerned would it stop me being appointed."
But Kenny asserted: "All of the medical people have said that I'm actually fitter now.
"The doctor in Sweden said to my wife that she was more likely to have a heart attack on the way to the airport than Stephen is.
"I went into this theatre, and you are awake in the operation. It is like a big industrial unit.
"These young Swedish doctors are talking to you while they are putting in the pacemaker.
"It is almost surreal, like an out-of-body experience but it is brilliant, really.
"It was diagnosed as a congenital issue, my heart skipped a beat...(it does this) very rarely but if it does, the pacemaker catches it."
