When ZACH ELBOUZEDI talks about Stephen Kenny’s decency as a manager, he does so because he has benefited from it himself.

In 2019 he was a Waterford player who emerged in the Irish League.

That year he was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad and quickly became a regular.

Kenny was responsible for the FAI’s succession plan for the top position.

At the end of the year an injury prevented Elbouzedi from playing, but Kenny was still keen to call him up for a double qualifier for the European Under-21 Championship with Armenia and Sweden.

“Before the match against Armenia he saw that I was not yet fully alert and he took me aside and said that although I would not start in the first match, he still believed in me as a player and as a person,” said Elbouzedi, now 26.

“That little detail of having the respect to talk to you, that meant a lot to me. A lot of managers don’t talk to you that way. And to still let me know that he believed in me, that was great. Plus it was the right decision.

“Then I played the next game against Sweden and I played really well in that game. The respect and the belief he has in you, I can feel that he really believes in you and wants you to do well. It’s just the understanding and the respect he treats you with.”

Kenny and Elbouzedi were reunited this week after the winger agreed to join his St Patrick’s Athletic revolution.

The club he left was AIK Stockholm and the Dubliner’s career can be traced back to his impressive performance in the 4-1 win over Sweden. Six of Kenny’s starting XI would also become regular internationals.

The Swedish assistant coach was Bartosz Grzelak and when he took over at AIK, Elbouzedi arrived in the summer of 2021.

He saw his first 18 months ‘flourish’ until injury and a series of management changes – six in all – saw him drop down the pecking order.

“When that happens, it’s natural that your confidence drops a bit. I just want to play games and play regularly. Some of my best football was under Stephen, so there’s no one better to do that with.

“Until the last day I was there, I always worked hard and tried to get back, but there comes a point where you know it’s not going to work anymore.

“We got a new manager, then we got a new manager, then we got a new manager again. We got a new technical director and he wanted to go in a different direction. You have to be realistic. I loved my time at AIK and I had a good life there, you know. My girlfriend was there, but I had to take this step to revive my career and grow my career in the way that I think I can.”

Kenny’s direct approach to convincing Elbouzedi to come back home proved crucial.

“The main thing is that I’ve been to clubs before where it wasn’t the manager who personally wanted you. It’s like a technical director or a head of football and then you get there and you can feel like the manager doesn’t like you.

“My best times at clubs were when the manager recruited me. Stephen was one of them who spoke to me directly on the phone and I know he signed a long-term contract.

“He believes in me and that’s the most important thing. I’m allowed to make mistakes, I’m allowed to express myself. That’s when I’m at my best, when I play on instinct and don’t think too much about the game. That’s what Stephen will allow me.”

Pat hopes that international clearance will come in time for Elbouzedi to make his debut in today’s FAI Cup match against Derry City (kick-off: 6pm).

The cup is the Saints’ only hope of silverware this season and it is also a trophy they are defending after lifting it in front of a record crowd last November.

“I think there are more full-time clubs than when I was there, so a much more professional set-up. A few teams have done well in Europe, (Shamrock) Rovers have obviously made it through the (Europa Conference League) group stages, so that raises the profile of the competition.

“Virgin Media shows more games, so it’s more accessible to watch, which makes the league look more professional when there are more games on TV. When I was in the league, RTE only showed a few games a season.

“It wasn’t as accessible for people to watch. For example, I was in Sweden and I could still watch the league. It also seems like there are more players in their prime playing in the league now, so yeah, I think the level of the league has gone up a lot since I was here. I think it’s a good place to play football.”