Inside Track: Jim was impressed with what he saw early on in the Kenny era

It was while doing some research for the Colette O’Hagan piece which appeared on this site over the weekend that I came across Jim McCourt’s thoughts as the Stephen Kenny era began to take root.

As the handful who read this column on a regular basis might know, McCourt used to put pen to paper, but is now a wizard on the computer, and when he has something to say, which is often enough, it flashes up on our screen.

I don’t know if it came in an envelope, or across the skies, but on March 19th, 2013, Jim had something to tell me. It was a forecast for Dundalk FC’s season ahead. Stephen Kenny had just taken over as manager, and though it was early days, my correspondent liked what he was seeing at Oriel.

In fact, so impressed was he with what was unfolding, he borrowed from Liverpool to give the new boss the title of King Kenny. This, of course, is what The Kop had hung around the neck of one of their best-ever managers, Kenny Dalglish.

By this stage, Kenny was only patrolling the Oriel line a short while, having seen his side compete in friendlies, the annual tournament match with Drogheda for the Malone Cup, and the league opener.

Jim liked the way Dundalk were playing – “No hoofing it down the middle” – but was concerned that scores could be hard to come by. “We need a centre-forward to finish off good approach work.” What he obviously wasn’t aware of was the capabilities of one of the new recruits, Richie Towell.

By the time Jim’s thoughts appeared in print, Kenny’s side put a bundle past Shelbourne. The season which followed was good, Dundalk finishing up second in the league, to St Patrick’s.

If that was good, what followed was truly magnificent, Kenny leading his side to five league titles, two FAI Cups and some epic outings in Europe. It was an achievement that in due course would win the Dubliner Irish soccer’s premier post.

And Jim? Well, he certainly got it right with the King Kenny bit, and, also, with the final piece of the message he sent this way:  “This is a new dawn”, he said.