Super Mac is eager to sign up for next year
Benson up for the Cup to atone for last season Duffy excited by team’s form
DAVID McMillan has given Dundalk fans a major boost by declaring his desire to remain at the club next season.
Speaking to The Argus after scoring his 13th league goal of the campaign in the 4-0 win away to Derry City on Sunday, the striker said ‘yeah’ when asked whether he hoped to still be at Oriel Park in 2018.
The 28-year-old, whose deal is up at the end of the season, admitted talks were ongoing over a new contract but said he fancied Dundalk to challenge for titles once again next year if they could keep the bulk of the current squad together.
He said: ‘I’ve spoken to Stephen and we’ll speak again in the next few weeks. These things take a bit of time and I’m sure it’s the same for everybody.
‘We’ve a very good squad now and we’ve hit a bit of form. We’re scoring a lot of goals and we’re defending well. I think we’ve the most clean sheets in the league out of any team so if we can keep the majority of the squad together - no doubt we’ll lose one or two - then I think Stephen will always put a strong team together and hopefully we’ll be strong again next year.’
Dundalk have been in top form since the break, scoring 31 goals and conceding just twice and while McMillan still bemoaned those two conceded, he insisted there was still plenty to play for this season with the EA Sports Cup and the FAI Cup still up for grabs.
‘We’ve dropped five points from those two goals so that’s really disappointing when you put it like that,’ he said.
‘Our form has been quite good since the break. In the league before Europe we won a lot of games. In the two European games our performances were very good as well. We had a little bit of a drop off after that but there’s still plenty to play for.
‘We’ve two cups to try and win this season and considering the start we had in the league if we can go on and win the two of them then we’ll probably call it a successful season in some regards. We’ve just got to focus on that and we’ve Crumlin next week so we’ll look forward to that.’
While the Lilywhites beat the Leinster Senior League outfit 5-0 a year ago at the same stage of the competition, McMillan insisted Dundalk couldn’t take Crumlin for granted this coming weekend if they wanted to achieve their goal of getting back to the Aviva Stadium this November.
‘We did face them last year so the lads will know a little bit about them. I didn’t play in that game but I’m looking forward to it next week.
‘It’s an important game for us because we don’t want to slip up and go out of the cup so we’ll be fully focused to get through the round.
‘We want to be back in the Aviva this year. We’ve been there before and we’ve won it and lost it. We’ve felt both sides of it but the most important thing at the moment is to try and get to the final and you’ll worry about it then when it comes around.
‘It’s just about making sure our season is that week longer and we’re in the Aviva come November,’ he said. HAVING missed out on last season’s FAI Cup defeat to Cork City at the Aviva Stadium, Robbie Benson is more determined than most to get back there again this November.
The midfielder missed out on the showpiece occasion last season with a hamstring injury sustained in the season-ending 4-1 win over Galway Utd at Oriel Park nine days earlier.
As a result, he’s definitely not going to take non-league Crumlin Utd for granted when the sides meet in the second round this weekend.
‘Last year I was devastated to miss the final so I’m eager to get back this year and play in the Aviva in a big occasion,’ he said.
‘Crumlin, we played them last year, so hopefully history will repeat itself and we’ll come out on top.’
Ironically the former UCD player is a doubt for that game having come off at half-time in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Derry City at half-time having felt his hamstring.
It denied him any chance of a first hat-trick for the club but Benson is hoping that landmark is not too far away.
‘That’s my third brace for Dundalk, all in the first half, and I still haven’t got a hat-trick so hopefully there will be one to come soon enough.
‘It just felt a little tight. If the game was more in the balance I probably would have stayed on but hopefully it’s not too bad,’ THE league might be out of the question but Michael Duffy believes Dundalk’s current form can set the tone for a title challenge next year.
Duffy and Dundalk have excelled in recent weeks with back-to-back 4-0 wins over Derry City leading to many pundits claiming Stephen Kenny’s side are back to their best after a disappointing start to the season.
Unfortunately for the Lilywhites that’s probably too little, too late when it comes to challenging Cork City for the league but Duffy believes it bodes well with the EA Sports Cup and FAI Cups still to play for and he is hopeful Dundalk can continue building on their performances with one eye on he said.
Benson was delighted with his side’s display on the day, however, describing it as the best first half of football he can remember the side playing.
‘We were brilliant. We pressed really well and got our rewards. I think when a game like that happens when you’re so dominant in the first half then the second half can peter out a bit like it did there but overall we’re thrilled. next season.
‘We’ve been doing really well the last few weeks and we want to keep going now,’ he said.
‘We want to finish strong in the league to sort of make a point for next year and we want to keep playing the way we’re playing in the cup games to get to the final.
‘It was a great win. We just followed on from last week. We were confident going in. We knew we had to start early again just like last week and we played some great football and scored some great goals in the first half.
‘We were linking up well together and the past few weeks have been good for us,’ he said.
The former Celtic winger has really hit form in the last
‘It’s as good as I remember us playing in the first half, even into last year. We’re playing really well at the minute.
‘I don’t think you can be complacent though. We still want to win as many points as we can. It’s important then that you bring your league form into the two cups that we want to win now. If you’re playing well in the league that can only aid you then,’ he said. few weeks but was quick to praise other members of his team as well, notably John Mountney and Robbie Benson.
‘John is scoring again and Robbie got two so it just shows anyone can really score in this team.
‘We just need to keep it up now and get through the next round of the cup next week.’
Duffy admits he knows little or nothing about this weekend’s FAI Cup opponents Crumlin but is confident Dundalk can get the job done if they play to form.
‘The only non-league team I would have played against would have been Bluebell while I was with Derry but we’re going in with confidence after the way we’ve been playing for the past few weeks,’ he said.