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From the Yorkshire Post
By Ian Appleyard
SHEFFIELD UNITED have offered suspended goalkeeper Paddy Kenny a new deal at Bramall Lane.
Kenny is currently serving a nine-month ban from football after failing a drugs test at the end of last season.
His existing deal with the Blades is due to expire in the summer and there had been widespread speculation over his future.
Blades chairman Kevin McCabe and manager Kevin Blackwell have decided that they want to keep the former Republic of Ireland international and it is understood that the goalkeeper is also keen to stay.
The Championship club would have been entitled to sack Kenny in the wake of his drugs ban but finding a replacement of equal quality could have cost over a million pounds.
Talks have been on-going behind the scenes for months and a decision was finally reached this week to stick by the player.
Kenny, 31, joined the Blades from Bury on a free transfer seven years ago and has played a major role in the club's recent success.
His absence this season has been a major loss to the side and goalkeeper Mark Bunn, on loan from Blackburn Rovers until January, was recently axed after a string of poor performances.
The Football Association imposed a ninth-month ban on Kenny after he tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine following last season's Coca-Cola Championship play-off semi-final against Preston North End.
Kenny always insisted that he was not a 'drugs cheat' and blamed the presence of the banned substance in his body on a cough remedy that he had purchased from a High Street chemist.
Although the FA accepted that he had not deliberately gone out of his way to break the rules, they rejected his appeal against the ban last month.
Halifax-born Kenny is now having to train in isolation and cannot work with the Blades until his ban expires in April. He will be available for the final three league games of the season.
In addition to the ban, Kenny will also be the subject of target testing for the next two years.Veteran goalkeeper Ian Bennett, 38, will keep his place in the side for Monday night's South Yorkshire derby at Barnsley as the Blades look to end a run of four consecutive defeats.
By Ian Appleyard
SHEFFIELD UNITED have offered suspended goalkeeper Paddy Kenny a new deal at Bramall Lane.
Kenny is currently serving a nine-month ban from football after failing a drugs test at the end of last season.
His existing deal with the Blades is due to expire in the summer and there had been widespread speculation over his future.
Blades chairman Kevin McCabe and manager Kevin Blackwell have decided that they want to keep the former Republic of Ireland international and it is understood that the goalkeeper is also keen to stay.
The Championship club would have been entitled to sack Kenny in the wake of his drugs ban but finding a replacement of equal quality could have cost over a million pounds.
Talks have been on-going behind the scenes for months and a decision was finally reached this week to stick by the player.
Kenny, 31, joined the Blades from Bury on a free transfer seven years ago and has played a major role in the club's recent success.
His absence this season has been a major loss to the side and goalkeeper Mark Bunn, on loan from Blackburn Rovers until January, was recently axed after a string of poor performances.
The Football Association imposed a ninth-month ban on Kenny after he tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine following last season's Coca-Cola Championship play-off semi-final against Preston North End.
Kenny always insisted that he was not a 'drugs cheat' and blamed the presence of the banned substance in his body on a cough remedy that he had purchased from a High Street chemist.
Although the FA accepted that he had not deliberately gone out of his way to break the rules, they rejected his appeal against the ban last month.
Halifax-born Kenny is now having to train in isolation and cannot work with the Blades until his ban expires in April. He will be available for the final three league games of the season.
In addition to the ban, Kenny will also be the subject of target testing for the next two years.Veteran goalkeeper Ian Bennett, 38, will keep his place in the side for Monday night's South Yorkshire derby at Barnsley as the Blades look to end a run of four consecutive defeats.
