How the Danish defender has given Stephen Kenny an indiction of what lies in wait in his impressive squad. When Niclas Vemmuleund was announced as one of the seven acquisitions that Stephen Kenny brought into Dundalk this season, many heralded the s
How the Danish defender has given Stephen Kenny an indiction of what lies in wait in his impressive squad.
When Niclas Vemmuleund was announced as one of the seven acquisitions that Stephen Kenny brought into Dundalk this season, many heralded the signing as a bit of a coup by the Lilywhites manager. The Danish born defender displayed some very impressive performances for a strong Derry City side last season and it was a signal of intent to give much need competition and options in the well established Dundalk back line.
In the last two games Vemmuleund has been deployed at left back, left vacant by the injured Dane Massey and an alien position to him. However he has shown to both management and fans alike at the club how priceless he can be, he is versatile. That is a precious commodity in a team like Dundalk where if the clubs ambitions are to be believed they will be playing on a lot of fronts this year. A player who is willing to slot into positions and adapt to the style of play and patterns of the role will certainly give Stephen Kenny a selection headache this season.
Kenny strives to keep his players fresh and hungry by fostering an ethos of desire to improve and play to the best of their abilities, if the early performances from the former IF Brommapojkarna player are anything to go by that ethos is certainly rubbing off on the player. Brian Gartland spoke recently in which he said that this Dundalk side was one of the strongest he has ever worked with, I believe he is referring to the collective strength and depth the squad will have when the injuries clear up. Instead of 16 players vying for a starting place there could be 22.
The performances so far by the Dundalk back line suggest that while any team would miss the calibre of Andy Boyle there is ample room for the replacements to stake a claim in the team. As previously written in a column I believe Paddy Barrett fits the mould that Boyle has vacated but Vemmuleund is well capable of also filling in said void also as the intensity of the season begins to pick up. Stephen Kenny has been known to select certain teams based on the opposition and their strengths and weaknesses. This is one of the reasons why adaptability is key in a side like Dundalk, players have been called into the side in the past, which may have raised eyebrows to some but proved to be masterstrokes come the end of the ninety minutes.
It will be up to players such as Vemmuleund to ensure that went called upon not only do they rise to the challenge they ensure that the team strives to better things this season.
Ciaran Callan
