Finn: Bradley has smarts to go ‘as far as he wants’
SHAMROCK ROVERS captain Ronan Finn believes that Hoops boss Stephen Bradley has the knowledge and managerial ability to “go as far as he wants” in the game.
Finn has worked under future international managers Michael O’Neill and Stephen Kenny and views league-winning boss Bradley in the same terms, especially as he’s only 36 years old.
While Finn hopes that Bradley is in Tallaght for the foreseeable future, he can understand why attention might come his way given how he has transformed Rovers.
“I’ve played under a wealth of really good managers and genuinely the manager’s tactical knowledge is a joke really for someone so young, his wealth of knowledge is frightening,” says Finn (above). “He can go as far as he wants in the game. He’s very, very level-headed and works extremely hard.
“I would coach in the evenings one night a week, you’d go up and his car is still in the training ground from that day, they (staff ) are up in the office, they are working behind the scenes.
“The amount of work he puts in is a testament to the man. He’s got us playing a style of football that’s very attractive but he’s also not afraid to hammer us.
“Sometimes you’re a victim of your own success but I know at the minute we’re absolutely delighted he’s here and I don’t want to see him going anywhere, put it that way.”
Meanwhile, Finn says Inter Milanbound Kevin Zefi has the ability to play for Ireland if he remains grounded. The Hoops starlet will join the Serie A side when he turns 16 next month and Finn has followed his development closely.
“From day one, you could recognise the talent,” said Finn yesterday. “He has unbelievable technical ability but football is more than that and you need to have the appetite, attitude and hunger to work hard.
“He dipped his toe in with the firstteam and he wasn’t afraid. We had to treat him as a man, we couldn’t be dancing around him. If Kevin backs himself and does the right things, like keeping his feet on the ground, hopefully we might have a future international.”