Stephen Kenny is hoping to get off to a flyer as Republic of Ireland Under-21 boss tonight.
But the senior manager in waiting has warned that Luxembourg will be a better team than people think.
Since leaving Dundalk after last season’s double success, Kenny has been waiting patiently for the competitive games to start.
He is tasked with trying to change the fortunes of the Irish Under-21s who have never qualified for the finals.
Luxembourg are first up in Tallaght and Ireland also face Italy, Sweden, Iceland and Armenia over the course of the campaign.
Ahead of the Tallaght clash, Kenny said: “When I first looked at the draw and didn’t know anything about it, I said Luxembourg at home would be the game we’d want first.
“That’s because you’re formulating a team and learning about players. But they have 15 players who were involved in the last campaign and we’ve only got one.
“Five or six of their team played in the last campaign against France, where they were 2-0 up against a team with Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham.
“France came back and won 3-2, and then in the second match in France it was 1-0 until the final minute when France scored again.
“They obviously decided to throw all their young players in earlier, with a view to a project, so they have got a decent team looking at them.
“Some of their players are playing in the Bundesliga 23s and 19s leagues. So we’ll have to earn the win, but that’s certainly our intention - to earn it.”
A big crowd is expected as Tallaght man Kenny kick-starts his reign in earnest having only played the one training game against the Irish amateurs until now.
“There’s a lot of interest, a lot of anticipation,” he added. “A lot of people are genuinely interested in the new generation of players coming through.
“So I think a good crowd is expected, which is brilliant for the players. It’s great to be managing the Under-21 team. It’s a great honour.
“We’d like to promoted players to the 21s younger, so they step up and experience playing for Ireland at that level.
“We want them to show that they have the potential over a period of time to become senior internationals.”
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