Dundalk's most successful manager Stephen Kenny signs new deal to 2020

Dundalk's record-breaking manager Stephen Kenny has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at Oriel Park until at least 2020.

Kenny has overseen an historic period in the club's history as they collected three consecutive league titles and became the second Irish side to reach the group stages of European competition.

The 45-year-old led the Lilywhites to the Europa League group stages in 2016 after they narrowly lost a Champions League play-off to Legia Warsaw.

Dundalk then became the first Irish side to secure a Europa League point with a 1-1 draw away to AZ Alkmaar before securing the first-ever victory at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

“It has been a privilege to manage this Dundalk team over the last four and a half years,” Kenny told the club's official website shortly after putting pen to paper on Wednesday afternoon.

“The team has been in one of the most successful in the history of the league. Some great players and brilliant people have been here in that period.

“We started with absolutely nothing and it has been a great journey. We are still on it. We have had a great consistency over those few years in the backroom team.

“We have had minimal changes. Vinny Perth has been the assistant manager for the whole time during that time.

“I have had Noel Walsh, Steve Williams and Graham Byrne for that time too. Sam Rice and Fearghal Kerin have been there for a good bit of that too.

“Ruaidhri Higgins has been the addition this year. We have had the same youth coaches also. By and large I have had the same backroom staff since day one.”

He added: “We are a provincial town. There’s just a population of over 30,000 in the town. We are battling against the bigger cities in Ireland – Cork, Derry, Dublin.

“To go then and compete against the bigger cities in Europe. Zenit St. Petersburg, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Legia Warsaw to name a few. Not only compete but beat them and get results against them.

“There has been a lot of very special nights in that period for Dundalk Football Club, domestically and in Europe.”

The Tallaght native has led the Lilywhites to every domestic trophy available to him in his four years in charge, winning the FAI Cup, the EA Sports Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.

He previously led Bohemians to the Premier Division title in 2002-03, won an FAI Cup and First Division title with Derry City and spent time in charge of Dunfermline Athletic in Scotland and his hometown club Shamrock Rovers.