Premier survival is still the number one priority for Brennan
PREMIER Division survival remains the number one target for Drogheda United despite climbing alongside mid-table Shamrock Rovers following Friday’s victory in Ballybofey.
Goalscorer Gavin Brennan certainly wasn’t getting carried away by the result, but he acknowledged its significance in the overall context of a season where three teams will be automatically relegated come October.
‘I think at the start [of the year] we would have been more than happy just to survive in the Premier Division, with three going down,’ he said. ‘We want to get as many points as we can early doors and see what way the table pans out after the first round of games, but that’s a massive three points up here and we’ve two big home games now against Sligo and Galway, and hopefully we can kick on.
‘Pete pointed out that we won our first two games two years ago, and then we lost five or six in a row, and it was getting in our heads a little bit that we should have been getting something out of the games we were losing.
‘The likes of Bohs, we should have got three points and we haven’t been eking out draws, but to stay in the league is the main objective.
‘To finish above anyone would be a big achievement. I don’t really mind who goes down, to be honest, once we stay in the league, and I think everyone would agree that it’s where Drogheda belong.’
This Friday’s opponents Sligo Rovers have been under-performing in recent years, considering their resources, but Brennan pointed out that, like it or not, it’s a results business and their poor start to the season cost manager Dave Robertson his job, with his replacement Gerard Lyttle in charge for the first time at United Park on Friday.
‘They have a big stand down there, but when you’re not getting results the crowd is going to turn, the manager has to take a hit and at the moment that’s just the way it is in this league,’ said the Rathmullen native.
Looking back at Friday night’s game, Brennan admitted to being relieved at coming away from Finn Park with a victory.
‘Coming up here is not an easy place, but I thought we dominated from start to finish and fully deserved the three points,’ he said.
‘They came out of the traps in the second half in fairness, and we stayed in the dressing-room for an extra five minutes - it was one of those situations.
‘But thankfully we got away with the one or two half-chances that they had, then we got the second goal and killed it off. Hopefully it was the first of many [goals] for myself, so it’s nice to get on the scoresheet and help the boys out and I’m happy enough.’
The victory was timely, coming off the back of a bad result in Limerick, after which manager Pete Mahon was pretty scathing of his players.
‘It was 100 times better than last week,’ said Brennan, who missed the game at Markets Field through injury. ‘I think to a man we were very good and worked hard for each other, and it paid off thank God.
‘It could have been seven or eight [against Limerick] and no one could have complained. We kind of got away with three, if you like, so it was nice to score two and keep a clean sheet today.’
Gavin said he was looking forward to the imminent return of his elder brother Killian, who broke his collarbone in the first half of the opening game of the season and hasn’t played since.
‘I think the boys who have come in have done well, but obviously Killian has a lot of experience in the middle and it would have been nice to have him. We’ve been missing him for the best part of the season, so it will be good to get him back.’