Give out, yes, but please don’t give up on cheering for the Rovers Alan Finn
Says that it is understandable that Bit O’Red fans are frustrated but he urges them to support manager John Russell who has been given a contract extension for the 2024 season
manager of the Rovers senior men’s team for 2024. and has already indicated he has earmarked potential signings who he feels are some of the League of Ireland’s underappreciated players.
Players like John Ross Wilson and Jack Keaney may lack the CV of Bogdan Vastsuk or Frank Liivak, but there is no questioning they are players who would bring 100% endeavour, 100% of the time with them.
Wilson was part of one of the Men’s Premier Division’s meanest defences when playing for Shelbourne and would not be in Damien Duff’s side if he was a passenger.
Jack Keaney, meanwhile, has endured some tough years at UCD while playing out of position, but there aren’t many signings you could make who get the club like Keaney, a dedicated player was never found wanting whenever he pulled on the Bit O’Red jersey.
We can’t pick and choose who we want with a reduced budget.
Yet supporters insist they want players who’ll leave everything on the pitch and play for the badge and we quickly have to accept these signings may not be the most exciting on paper – after all, where has “exciting on paper” gotten the club this year? The off-season will be interesting if nothing else.
The pressure is now on John Russell to get most of decisions right, in terms of recruitment and tactics, in the coming months.
There will be lots of divided opinion moving forward.
But one thing I’m sure we can all agree on is that we would all love to see nothing more than John Russell produce one of the great redemption stories in the club’s history by achieving beyond expectation in 2024.