Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Every game is must-win now
Mcdermott is focused on trip into lion’s den rather than ordering pizza tonight
ULSTER forwards coach Roddy Grant insists the province can’t afford to take their foot off the pedal heading into Saturday’s Pro14 showdown with Leinster in Belfast.
Trailing their southern rivals by six points in Conference A with only three games left, time is fast running out on Dan Mcfarland’s bid to topple their southern rivals.
Lose this weekend and it’s effectively game over. Win and the dream of topping the group and reaching the March 27 final lives on.
Asked if Ulster are staring at a ‘must-win’ game, Grant said: “The ‘must-win’ tag will clearly get a headline, but my belief is all games are important.
“We’ve got to win every game and no one’s under any illusions.
“If we win it, we close the gap (on Leinster), but even if we win, we still have to win the other two.”
Marcell Coetzee, who missed last week’s win over the Ospreys with a thigh injury, faces a race against time to be fit, while Sam Carter is ruled out following a recent concussion.
With Ireland not in Six Nations action this week, Ulster welcome Stuart Mccloskey and Tom O’toole back for the Leinster game but Iain Henderson, Rob Herring and Billy Burns have all been retained by Andy Farrell ahead of the Scotland game in Edinburgh on March 14.
GLENTORAN manager Mick Mcdermott believes the Irish League is being treated to one of the best title races in many years.
And he says if he wasn’t in the dugout for tonight’s Big Two derby, he’d be glued to his TV, eating pizza, watching the game on BBC iplayer.
The only downside? The fact this season’s Gibson Cup chase is being played behind closed doors.
“The league is really exciting and I honestly think we’d have packed stadiums if it wasn’t for Covid,” said Mcdermott.
“We would have been looking at the biggest attendances of recent times because it’s so competitive, but the good thing is it’ll be just as competitive next season and beyond.”
Mcdermott believes the Irish League is in a “good place” despite the impact of Covid.
“We have more teams moving towards full-time models, the tactical and technical quality in the league is improving and I believe we have a cracking product,” he said.
“For 25 years when I came home from abroad, I’d have taken in the odd Irish League game and I maybe came away thinking ‘that was brutal’. I’m not thinking that now.
“The Linfield and Larne game was on BBC on Friday night and I ordered pizza, got the kids around the TV and I was looking forward to watching it.
“The league is in a really good place and that’s a credit to the media, the clubs and NIFL, but it has a chance to grow even further.”
While the Glens, who beat Linfield 1-0 at Windsor Park last week, lie sixth and are 12 points off the Blues at the summit, the Ovalmen boast two games in hand.
So is tonight’s derby shootout a ‘most not lose’?
“I have never gone into a game looking to avoid losing,” said Mcdermott. “Our players will be going for it and listen, if we don’t win, we don’t win. The result will look after itself.”
While the Big Two rivalry has intensified due to Glentoran’s forward strides on and off the pitch in recent times, Mcdermott insists there’s no bad blood.
“David Healy is a Northern Ireland legend and I admire what he has achieved as Linfield manager. Some people maybe want to drum up some kind of false narrative around ‘us and them or David and me’, but it’s nonsense.
“Yes, we are derby rivals, but I fully respect Linfield.”
Sheff Weds v Rotherham tomorrow, KO 7.45pm
DARREN MOORE became Sheffield Wednesday’s fourth manager of the season yesterday – and walked straight into a row with his former club Doncaster.
The 46-year-old quit a League One promotion campaign with Rovers to try to revive relegationthreatened Wednesday in the Championship.
Moore takes over a hot-seat previously occupied by Garry Monk, Tony Pulis and, latterly, interim boss Neil Thompson, who will remain on the Wednesday staff.
Doncaster chairman David Blunt said he was disappointed given the support Moore was offered in the transfer window.
Blunt said: “We are disappointed that Darren has chosen to leave the club part way through what has been a season full of promise.
“We have made significant efforts to support Darren over the past 18 months and ensure he was able to build a team capable of challenging for the top six.
“This has included supporting him through the past two transfer windows.”
But former West Brom boss Moore claimed that the Hillsborough job was one he could not turn down. “I understand David’s comments but I am sure he is delighted for me as an individual,” he said.
“Doncaster is a wonderful club but Sheffield Wednesday is a club steeped in huge tradition. The chance was too much to resist. I had no hesitation.”
Wednesday, second from bottom in the Championship table, are six points adrift of safety and tomorrow face a local derby six-pointer with Rotherham, who are just a place above them.
Moore said: “It is my biggest challenge but I have to be confident. I am ultracompetitive. I have self-belief. It will always burn in me. We have some talented players here and I want to unlock their full potential. I have to unleash that talent and get them playing with freedom. I think I did that at Doncaster. I
had players there playing to a level they might not have seen. “The message to the players here is clear. What has gone on has gone on, now we focus our minds and see what we can achieve. We know we face a hard task, but we have to approach any hurdles together as a group.” Owls have lost their last four Championship games.
But after unveiling Moore as new boss, Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri (inset) said he was confident the club would still be playing in the Championship next term. “Relegation? No. We have 14 games, enough points available there for us to stay up.”