McMillan’s goal is to end season on a high

DUNDALK striker David McMillan is confident that he can end the season on a high to help the club achieve something special before the year is out.

With Patrick Hoban out for the rest of the season following an ankle injury sustained against Sligo Rovers recently, McMillan is set to lead the line for the Lilywhites for the rest of the campaign.

He produced arguably his best display since returning to the club from Scotland in the summer when scoring twice and setting up the opener for Michael Duffy against Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday night.

Now he is hopeful of carrying that form into Thursday’s Europa League tie with

Rapid Wien at the Aviva and this Sunday’s

FAI Cup semi-final away to Athlone Town.

‘I think I’ve probably not been at my best in a few weeks of the league campaign,’ he admitted.

‘I think that can be said of a lot of players but personally I’ve been disappointed that I didn’t score in the league since I’ve come back.

‘I felt a lot sharper on Friday and felt things went my way a little bit. To get two and an assist for Mickey is great. It gives me confidence going forward into the rest of the games.

‘With Pat out injured now I know the onus is on me now to produce performances like this and hopefully I can back this up on Thursday.’

The 31-year-old, whose double on Friday took him to 80 goals for Dundalk, said winning the Cup is now the main aim for the squad.

‘We know our league form hasn’t been anything like what we wanted. In the end we’ve qualified for Europe, which would be a bare minimum for us, but we know if we can go on a good run and try to win this Cup then we can at least put some gloss on the season.’

Before the Cup match, there is the small matter of Rapid Wien to contend with but McMillan is hopeful that playing in Europe will suit him as he looks to build on his two goals against the Austrians last time out.

‘Some of these games hopefully will suit me,’ he said.

‘In games in our league a lot of teams will sit back against us and it can be difficult to break teams down. As a striker when that happens it can be difficult to get into the game but I think in the European games they’re a little bit more open.

‘Obviously we have a lot more defending to do against such high class opposition but I think it will suit me to try and get in behind teams and to play on the break a little bit more.

‘I’ll just be doing my best to try and go out and help the team and hopefully that will lead to goals,’ he said.