Duff at the top.. but a pitch at the bottom

DAMIEN WON’T BUY INTO HYPE BUT PLAYING SURFACES ARE A CONCERN

DAMIEN DUFF insists he won’t be getting carried away by Shelbourne’s climb to the top of the table.

But he wonders if the League needs to consider delaying the start of the season to prevent matches being played “on bogs”.

The former Ireland star has led the Reds to the summit, with Monday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Galway United opening a two-point gap over Derry City.

It’s the first time Shelbourne have been top of the pile since 2006, but Duff swatted away the significance.

“Everything is 20 years at this place,” he said “We had the biggest attendance for a Monday game at Tolka since 2006. It means nothing.

“It might give the lads confidence but there are 32 games to go. It’s so hard to win games, as you can see from the crazy results on Monday.

“(Top of the table) looks great on the eye but I won’t be getting carried away and the players won’t be either.”

He feels his team must improve in possession but says the heavy pitches at this time of year help nobody and a discussion is needed about pushing out the start of the season.

“I wouldn’t fancy playing on any pitch in this country at the minute,” he said.

“I don’t know whether there has ever been any discussions.

“Just even start two, three or four weeks later and finish later because every pitch is just a bog.

“They talk about the aesthetics of stadiums, but what about the aesthetics of the pitches and the matches being played on those pitches? It’s hard.”

Duff continued: “I’m a blow-in, so I don’t know if discussions have been had before. I spoke to Luke Byrne, our technical director, about it.

“I think it ties in with the FAI Cup final and that it can’t be played in December, but you might know more than me.

“But I think back to my very first game as a professional manager and it was here at Tolka Park, live on RTE against St Pats, and it was a bog.

“I don’t know whether it’s possible but it makes sense to me because the weather in January and February is worse than November and December.

“It looks like I’m bashing people again but this is my third season starting off in the league and I look at all the pitches and they’re not great.”