He was particularly praiseworthy of the condition of the Brandywell pitch for last Monday night’s game against Linfield, insisting that without the help and co-operation of the local Council, Derry City would not have produced such an impressive performance.

“The work completed by the Derry City Council employees has been highly significant in our success over recent weeks,” claimed Kenny. “The work completed by the Brandywell ground staff in preparing and producing a pitch of that quality has been absolutely fantastic. In fact, the Council’s administrative have also been superb in providing facilities for us to train on and we really appreciate that co-operation and support,” he added.

They’ve been a great help to us. The pitch last Monday was the best it’s been all season. The condition of the surface was fantastic and that made a big difference in our performance against Linfield.

“Even though there had been heavy rain recently, the ground staff actually watered the pitch for us before kick-off and that was very important for the slickness of our passing.

“At this time of the year, the tendency in the past can be to leave the grass a bit longer but the staff cut it right down. It was an impeccable surface to play on. Credit to the workers who have been involved. The quality of their work is excellent. They are putting in a shift to help us succeed in what we’re attempting to achieve and as manager of the club, I’m extremely grateful for that.

“Those at senior level in the Council have been very good to us this season and I think it’s very important that we acknowledge their valuable support and co-operation,” concluded the Dubliner.