Cronin prepared for a marathon effort
GARY Cronin knows that the First Division will be a marathon and not a sprint.
He watched his side plummet from first place to sixth spot after just one result but the man that’s claimed a winner’s medal as both a manager and a player knows better than to hit the panic button.
Cronin may have to plan without Joe Doyle for the visit to Longford Town – another top of the table clash – and Cronin has called on his players to bounce back from defeat at Tolka Park.
‘It was a game that we obviously really wanted to win – like with all games we’ll play. We knew it would be tough because Shels were on the back of a poor mini-run with a few defeats under their belt and they came out of the traps in the first half. They had the better of the first half but we regrouped in the second half and I thought we were excellent.
‘Overall, we definitely deserved a result from the game but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. On another night, we definitely would have picked up something so we just have to regroup and go again on Saturday.’
Losing his grip on top spot hasn’t bothered the ex-Longford assistant boss because he has ran this race before and knows that it’s at the end of the season that positions matter and not just a few weeks in.
‘That’ll be the case for a few weeks probably until maybe the halfway point when you see teams start to pull away. Depending how results fall next week, it could all change again. It’s always been that way in the First Division – if a team can put a few wins together then they can find themselves going from eighth to second in a short period of time.
‘It’s going to be tight this year. We just hope that we’re there or thereabouts come the last six/ seven games.’
On Monday, the Seagulls discovered that their EA Sports Cup quarter-final would be a clash with Waterford at the Carlisle Grounds and it was a pleasing draw for Cronin from a logistical perspective.
‘From a club point of view, the home draw is a big thing because on a Monday night if we’d to travel to Ballybofey or Derry or Cork; they’re tough trips during the week.
‘In the first half of the game on Friday the legs seemed a bit fatigued (following extra time against Rovers) so it is tough on a part-time side to play three games in a week. Not having to travel on the Monday is great and anything after that didn’t really matter. I was happy to get Waterford though because I know Renny really well so we’ll give it a good go just like we did against Rovers.’