Dundalk to face AZ Alkmaar with ‘arms tied behind their back’

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny has suggested that his side will be taking on AZ Alkmaar in their opening game of the Europa League group stages with their "arms tied behind their back" as a result of the club having been obliged to play a league game against Finn Harps next Monday.

The league champions who start their Europa League campaign in the Netherlands on Thursday week, beat Bohemians on Friday night and now face into a packed schedule of games that will involve them having played five times in 13 days including that visit to AZ.

"We will be going Holland playing our fifth game in 12, 13, 14 days," says the Dubliner whose side travel to the Showgrounds tomorrow to play Sligo Rovers before taking on UCD in the cup this Friday.

“It’s a tough schedule but not one I want to start complaining about. I’m just disappointed we’re going into the Europa League games and we’re nearly throwing the white towel in before we even go into them. We’re going in being forced to play on the Monday because there is no other option. It’s not just playing on the Monday, it’s five games in two weeks. I’m disappointed with that but I don’t have an alternative.”

Kenny acknowledges that club has received some help with fixtures but that other requests have been turned down despite Dundalk offering multiple alternative dates for games.

The club had also asked that the end of the league season be extended to ease the congestion they are facing into but with the FAI Cup final scheduled for the following weekend and the contracts players at other clubs not involved in that due to expire when it is scheduled to finish now, on October 28th, that must always have seemed like a long shot.

“We’ve asked the question,” he says, in any case. “I think it’s a fair question but I think that it won’t be going back. I think we would like it to go back a couple of weeks because we’ll be going into the Europa League games very ill-prepared, very poorly prepared. And that’s what kills me.

"We had a week to prepare for the other games and we needed it because we are looking to play at a level way beyond ourselves, the absolute optimum level of performance to go and beat BATE Borisov 3-0; beat them out the door and then go toe to toe with Legia.

“But we won’t be able to speak about AZ until after the Finn Harps’ match on Monday. We’ll be in Holland on Wednesday saying ‘this is who AZ are! We’re usually in training, saying ‘this is what we can do’. Instead, what we are doing is showing them the night before.”

“It is what it is. It just means that you are going into the Europa League with both arms tied around your back, really.”