Russell Martin expresses his disappointment in Stephen Kenny.
Swansea City manager Russell Martin has expressed his disappointment with Stephen Kenny following comments the Irish manager made about Michael Obafemi on Thursday.
While unveiling his squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures with Scotland and Armenia, Kenny spoke about Obafemi’s recent troubles at the Welsh club which resulted in an omission from the squad those last weeks.
Martin said earlier this week the 22-year-old needed to ‘show us he’s in the right place’ in order to return to the squad, with a failed deadline day transfer to Burnley seen as one concerns of the attacker.
Asked about the situation on Thursday, Kenny backed his striker by praising his form this season and expressing his joy to have him with the Ireland squad.
Stephen Kenny supports Michael Obafemi.
“I spoke to Michael and like everything else there are two or three sides to every story,” the former Dundalk boss said. “Certainly Michael wants to play football, he wants to play for Swansea.
“Obviously he’s been omitted from the last two squads after deadline day offers and so on. It’s not ideal, we want our players to play and be in good shape. It’s just one of those things, I’m sure he’ll be back to play soon.
“We’re delighted to have him in the team because we’ve watched him a few times this season and he’s played well, he’s been at the level he finished last season.”
“He needs to regain confidence.”
Martin then addresses Kenny’s comments on Friday morning, ahead of Swansea’s EFL Championship meeting with Hull City this weekend.
“There are no personal issues with Michael,” the 36-year-old said. “We get along wonderfully, he just needs to regain the trust of his team-mates, of us as a group of staff and club and of the supporters, a trust that everyone has shown him for a very long time. as simple as that.
“There are not three sides to the story. I spoke to Stephen before he called, so I’m a bit disappointed with these comments. There is no agenda. I hope he leaves with Ireland and does brilliantly and I hope he does brilliantly with us when he comes back.
Michel Obafemi.
Irish fans will hope being away from Swansea for a few weeks will benefit Obafemi as the side head towards a crucial double-header.
The former Southampton man started the 3-0 win over Scotland in June, scoring a superb long-range effort, while linking up brilliantly with Troy Parrott throughout.
The support of his international manager is sure to be appreciated during this difficult time for the youngster, as he looks to add to his four caps in a green shirt.
Ireland travel to Glasgow for a meeting with Scotland next Saturday night, before hosting Armenia at the Aviva Stadium three days later.
Learn more about: Ireland, michael obafemi, stephen kenny
Comments are closed.