Lyttle encouraged by players’ character
GERARD Lyttle has called for more of the same determination and hard work from his players in the coming weeks as the Belfast man looks to lead his charges away from the relegation zone.
Lyttle took charge of his first Sligo Rovers game on Friday last as the Bit O’Red hung on to claim a hard earned point at United Park.
Rovers battled back from a goal down despite the disappointment of Kieran Sadlier’s 37th minute penalty miss and the loss of centre half Mick Leahy through injury one minute later.
The Rovers boss says he wants to see his side match the work ethic which saw his team go on to level the game through Jonah Ayunga and in turn, claim their second point on the road this season.
He told the Sligo Champion: “When you go one down and you have an opportunity to level the game and you miss it, then the heads can drop. But the players showed me they have something about them and when you have that in a team then it’s something to work on. We all know the players have the quality. It’s just about getting that hard work and self- belief out of them each week and tonight we’ve seen we have something to build on.
“A lot things didn’t go our way but the boys kept fighting. I told them after the game that if we show the same faith in ourselves and show the same determination and stay solid, we will move up the table.”
Drogheda dominated large portions of this tie but Lyttle says his players responded well to the tactical adjustments throughout the 90 minutes. He said: “We had to change a few things when Mick came off and it’s never easy when you have to do that. But the boys coped well with the changes.”
Rovers’ medical team will this week asses both Leahy and Daniel Kearns ahead of the Bit O’Red’s SSE Airtricity League meeting with Limerick this weekend. The former was withdrawn on the advice of club physio Tommy Scanlon following a head injury sustained just before the break. While Kearns limped off in added time at the end of the game with an ankle knock.
Both players were doubts for yesterday’s EA Sports Cup tie with Galway but Lyttle was hopeful to have them fit for this weekend’s vital league clash with Limerick. “Mick’s vision was blurred and we didn’t want to risk him in that state and Dan’s foot is badly swollen but we’ll have a look at it this week and see how they are.”
Now into the second week of his new job, Lyttle says he has seen enough from the players to know they are capable of lifting themselves from their current position. He also noted his encouragement at the training levels since he’s arrived at the Showgrounds. “When you see a team down around the wrong side of the table when you take over, you worry about things in terms of what type of character the team has”, he explained.
“But I thought we showed tremendous character given what was thrown at us tonight.
“It’s been a great couple of days. Something we have and will continue to work on is fitness and sharpness. It’s going to take a few weeks to adjust to what I’m trying to do here but once we settle and get firing, we have the talent to pick up a few wins. I think if we can get one or two under our belt that will breed a lot of confidence.”