O'Neill says Eoin Kenny's family ties were not a factor in Northern Ireland call-up

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill said Eoin Kenny's family connection to the Republic of Ireland was not something he considered when naming the 20-year-old in his senior squad for this month's Nations League fixtures against Ukraine and Hungary. The comment came as O'Neill prepared his side for the home match with Ukraine on 14 November and the away game in Hungary on 17 November.

Kenny is the son of Stephen Kenny, who managed the Republic of Ireland for three years between 2020 and 2023, and joined Portsmouth from Dundalk in the summer transfer window. He was born in Northern Ireland while his father was manager of Derry City and represented the Republic of Ireland at under-19 level before switching allegiance to Northern Ireland at under-21 level. Kenny has played 11 times for Tommy Wright's under-21s and captained the side against Greece last month.

On the decision to include him in the senior squad, O'Neill said: "The background is not really that important for me, if I'm honest. I just look at the lad as a player." He added: "He's really enjoyed being in the Northern Ireland set-up and, I think off the back of a really strong under-21s campaign, he deserves the opportunity to be in the squad."

O'Neill said he did not speak to Stephen Kenny before the call-up and that the initial introduction to the Northern Ireland set-up came via under-21 manager Tommy Wright. "It wasn't me that brought him in, it was Tommy Wright that brought him in initially and so he's been around it," O'Neill said. "I knew of him obviously through Stephen, and that he played in the League of Ireland, but it was only when the eligibility thing came to the forefront and Tommy Wright had him in with the 21s [that he came on to O'Neill's radar]."

Kenny has made one Championship appearance for Portsmouth, and O'Neill said the international window offered a chance to assess him outside the constraints of club minutes. "It just gives us a chance to see him really, otherwise we're waiting on him getting minutes at Portsmouth," O'Neill said. "He's had some, but it's not been easy for him in terms of getting minutes. He's made a positive impact since he went there, but you never see the players truly until you get them in and get the chance to work with them. That was the rationale."

The manager also addressed wider questions over international allegiance involving young players, referencing recent cases in the build-up to internationals. "We've no need to have those conversations," he said, adding: "At the end of the day, he's part of our under-21 group and he's on the radar of the senior squad. We don't have those conversations until it comes to the point that the player indicates that he would want to make an international transfer and we're not at that point."

O'Neill attended Highbury to watch Conor Haughey score the decisive penalty in Fleetwood Town's EFL Cup win over Arsenal last week and praised the centre-back's overall display. "I normally would leave a game just before the end, but I stayed to the end in this case and stayed for the penalties," he said. "I was a little bit surprised to see Conor step up and take the fifth penalty, but it showed real confidence which is nice to see in a young player. It showed a really positive attitude. I felt he played well in the game, that was more important for me. He's playing against [Viktor] Gyokeres, he's playing against [Kai] Havertz, so to get through the game and take it to penalties was a big achievement for Fleetwood and big for a young player to be involved in that type of game."

Live coverage of Northern Ireland's Nations League fixtures at home to Ukraine (14 November) and away to Hungary (17 November) will be available on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport NI website.