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Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has told Evan Ferguson to play without pressure as he attempts to enhance his blossoming reputation on the international stage.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old striker has shaken off a back injury to make himself available for Saturday evening\u2019s final Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam and the chance to add to his tally of three goals in eight senior appearances for his country.<\/p>\n
Ferguson\u2019s presence at the Johan Cruyff Arena, where he played in Brighton\u2019s 2-0 Europa League win over Ajax last week, will excite the travelling support, although Kenny is keen not to place too much weight on his young shoulders.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s important not to expect too much. We\u2019ve to be cognisant of his age. He\u2019s made the breakthrough and played international football at 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just turned 19. He\u2019s got an all-round game and a few goals already for Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in this stadium last week, of course. He\u2019s been very positive this week, very positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could easily have pulled out of the squad or opted to pull out having not been available for his club last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s here, determined to well and deserves a lot of credit for that. We\u2019re looking forward to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be no pressure on him tomorrow. We want him to enjoy his football and show his quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferguson missed September\u2019s 2-1 home defeat by the Dutch \u2013 who would clinch their place at the finals along with leaders France with a win \u2013 due to a knee injury and was a frustrated bystander as Cody Gakpo\u2019s penalty and a second goal from substitute Wout Weghorst overhauled Adam Idah\u2019s opener.<\/p>\n
That has been the story for much of a disappointing Group B campaign in which Ireland have beaten Gibraltar home and away, but have otherwise failed to pick up a single point.<\/p>\n
Asked how much that had affected morale, Preston midfielder Alan Browne said: \u201cNot as much as you might think.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the circumstances, the opposition that we faced, it doesn\u2019t hurt as much. When you try to go toe-to-toe with those teams and you\u2019re not far off, you can take bit of credit, a bit of confidence from that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to stay as positive as we can. I\u2019m not saying we\u2019re happy to lose games \u2013 we\u2019re obviously disappointed after every game we lose, even draws to a certain extent.<\/p>\n
When you see it back and see all the positives and the moments that have cost you, you kind of think there\u2019s not an awful lot in it<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reflect on those games, we analyse them. When you see it back and see all the positives and the moments that have cost you, you kind of think there\u2019s not an awful lot in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully \u2013 it\u2019s not going to be this campaign, but going into the next and the ones after it \u2013 if we can benefit from those performances and change those losses or draws into wins or into draws and keep accumulating as many point as we can, we can find ourselves in a better position.\u201d<\/p>\n