Kenny calls on fans to play part again

As Reds book final berth SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE

and the county board. We’re all rowing the boat in the same direction and we deserve to be in this final.

‘We brought Niall Arthur in a couple of games into the league and he has been brilliant for us. He’s a fantastic hurler and he’s really delivering for us. I definitely feel that there is more to come from this team however. We have nothing to fear from Warwickshire. Of course, we realise that they are a very good team and they are good honest hurlers who are keeping the game alive over there. You have to respect that. We drew with them in Darver last month in a game that could have went either way so as I said we won’t fear them,’ stated Philip (pictured above). Arrangements for the final were due to be announced yesterday (Monday) but speaking on Sunday Philip expressed his wishes that the game be held on the weekend after next.

‘I’m hearing that the final will probably be this weekend’s which I’m hoping is wrong as I feel that both sides deserve a rest ahead of the final. Warwickshire are just after travelling to Roscommon and I’m sure they would like an extra week to recover. It’s Paddy’s weekend as well which is a weekend a lot of hurling people including myself would tend to travel to Croke Park for the club finals so I would hope that the county finals are moved back a week to account for this. I’m guessing the match will be played at a neutral venue and with Warwickshire landing into Dublin I’d imagine they will play it in Dublin somewhere. But listen, no matter when or where it is we will be ready and we will be giving it our all to finish the job off,’ promised Philip. STEPHEN Kenny has called on Dundalk fans to once again play their part as a Waterford FC side who he believes are title challengers arrive at Oriel Park on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).

Alan Reynolds’ First Division champions have been the surprise package of the season to date with last Friday’s 2-1 win away to Sligo Rovers leaving them joint top with Cork City.

Speaking ahead of Monday night’s game with St Patrick’s Athletic, Kenny said Waterford would pose a ‘real test’ and called on supporters to create the kind of atmosphere they brought for last weekend’s 1-0 win over Cork City.

‘They’ve had an exceptional start,’ he said of Waterford.

‘They’ve a multi-national team now with players from Belgium, Holland and Estonia in their midfield. They’ve Akinade, who they brought in and Courtney Duffus from Oldham. The goalkeeper was Swindon’s Player of the Year last year and then they have experienced players like Kenny Browne, David Webster and Paul Keegan so they’re a very experienced team. It will be a real test for us on Friday but it’s one we can look forward to.

‘They’re a team who are looking to challenge for the title this season. The stadium is good down there and they’ve the best training facility in the league I believe so they’re geared to do well. That will make it a real test for us but what can give us encouragement is that the atmosphere in the ground last Friday was back to where we would want it.

‘That level of passion is what we want every week. We had that a couple of years ago here. We have to earn the right to win matches and the team and the supporters have to feed off each other. That has been a recipe for an important part of our success. Now we need a big game against Waterford and we’ll have to be at our best,’ he said.

Dundalk are also scheduled to travel to the Brandywell on Monday to face Derry City (kick-off 7.45pm) in a game that was postponed recently due to Storm Emma. Reports in the North West suggest that game is now in doubt once again, with Kenny Shiels’ side understood to be pushing to have it called off due to international call ups.

Conor McDermott, Jamie McDonagh and Ben Doherty have been selected for Northern Ireland U-21’s UEFA Euro U-21 double header against Spain and Iceland while Eoin Toal will be in action for the U-19s. Rory Hale and Ronan Curtis will also be involved in Noel King’s Republic of Ireland U-21 squad for their Euro qualifier against Azerbaijan.

Speaking on Sunday evening, Kenny said he did not know if the game would go ahead but said he would be anxious to play it. ‘There has been no contact from anyone so I’m not sure,’ he said.

‘We want to play it because there’s nowhere else in the calendar to play it between now and the summer so we definitely want to play it but we’ll have to wait and see. It will be taken out of our hands regardless, it won’t be our decision.’

Kenny also revealed he was anxious to begin contract negotiations with some of the players who will be out of contract at the end of the current season. Of the side that started against Cork City, seven are on one year deals and while Robbie Benson and Ronan Murray both only opted for one year deals recently, there is a more pressing concern regarding the likes of Sean Hoare, Jamie McGrath and Michael Duffy who represent potential resale value if there is interest from cross channel clubs.

‘I’ve articulated it to the board my views on this,’ Kenny said when asked about the subject.

‘I have articulated all that but I’m waiting on that now. We have spoken about that internally.’

The manager said he was pleased with Friday night’s victory over Cork City but said it was ‘just one win in isolation’ and encouraged his players to follow it up now over the course of a busy few weeks.

‘We could have won by four or five on the night but because it was only 1-0 you’re never comfortable until the whistle goes. It was a comprehensive win and we have to take that level of intensity into the game against Waterford as well.

‘We haven’t done a lot wrong this season. We’ve played well but there were two games we probably should have won. Okay, the Rovers game there wasn’t that much in it but we probably had the better chances and we were probably better in the game overall. Against Bray we had missed chances too. We’ve not done a lot wrong and yet could have found ourselves seven points behind.

‘It’s very early days but you don’t want to fall that distance behind so early. It’s just one win in isolation. We’ve got two tough games this week so we’ve got to get ourselves ready and be focused on what we’re doing.

‘It’s a win, which is important because of the points deficit. We didn’t transfer our superiority on the night in terms of the scoreboard so the game was still in the balance then but Gary Rogers was just so calm in the goal. The back four defended as a unit. Obviously they had a chance in the first half through Barry McNamee, which was a good save from Gary, but we didn’t give away too many chances after that and we had a lot.

‘We missed a lot of chances and because we missed the chances the game is always in the balance because you only need one chance. That is the concern but I thought there was a real sense of teamwork. Fellas were fighting for each other and that was important because we’ll need that as the season progresses.’

Kenny said he’d have to think about it when pressed on whether changes would be necessary with the games coming thick and fast in the coming weeks.

He did say he was happy with how his squad were progressing though.

‘The squad took a bit of time to get together. We had a bit of a prolonged takeover. It dragged on, as all takeovers do. There was no fault on anyone’s part but it meant we were getting players in a little bit late who weren’t at the fitness level that we needed.

‘We had some injuries too so we’ve had our period so to speak. We’re looking very strong now. I think we’ve had our period of injuries whereas we look like we’ve a strong squad now. I’m happy with what we’ve got.’