Mahon demands more from players
PETE Mahon has questioned the commitment of some of his players and called on them to step up to the plate ahead of Drogheda United’s make-or-break home game against St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday (kick-off 7.45pm).
The team are on a dreadful run of 13 games without a win and on Friday slumped to a 4-1 defeat against second-bottom Galway United, but in a long and wide-ranging interview with the Drogheda Independent on Sunday afternoon the manager insisted he would never quit and instead demanded more from his players to boost the club’s survival prospects.
Already four points adrift at the foot of the table, Drogheda must look to pick up a win to drag an improving St Pat’s back into the mire, and another loss would leave the Boynesiders requiring a miracle to avoid plummeting straight back to the First Division.
Last week’s heavy reverse at Eamonn Deacy Park was the last straw for Mahon and he feels that it’s his squad that have questions to answer, not himself and the management team.
‘We didn’t pick up the runners for their first goal and the last two were very disappointing because the defenders didn’t react when the keeper made the saves, but you can go through those things all day and it won’t make any difference now,’ Mahon began.
‘The players have to take responsibility for their decision-making. Some of them have been found out this year and they ought to have a look at themselves in terms of what they do away from the training ground.
‘Three or four players look to be unfit, which would be a concern for me and is a terrible indictment on them, and I’ve tried to change their habits.
‘They have to realise that after this season there won’t be much else for them. Whether they have a career in football will be totally down to them.
‘They are all good lads at heart, but when they’re recovering from games can they do that little bit extra that every other team is doing?
‘Some of those lads are in college or they’re working or sitting at home, but I still think that of the three days they are off, two of them could maybe be spent with a halfhour in the gym which would improve their condition no end.
‘Seven or eight teams are full-time and maybe they can’t be as fit as full-time players, but it’s a lifestyle they choose and they have been badly exposed this season. I don’t have to name names. Anyone who has seen our games knows who I’m talking about. I can see players who want it more than others and that’s been a disappointment.
‘I eat and sleep football and I am responsible, but I’m still the same person. The only difference is the results and the management is judged on results. The results hurt me and my staff, but I don’t know if they’re hurting the players enough.
‘I am happy in the sense that I’m doing all I can and I have a good backroom staff who are putting in a tremendous amount of effort.
‘I can name four, five or six clubs where players would not be treated the same way as they’ve been treated by us. I communicate with them on a regular basis and whatever they want, we try and do it for them, and I think some of them are being spoilt.
‘It’s time that the players took a look at themselves.’
Praising the club’s volunteers who ‘work day and night to keep the show on the road’, Mahon called for the same level of commitment from his squad and expressed the hope that a hard-hitting newspaper article might have the desired effect.
‘I’m hoping the penny might drop,’ he continued. ‘We had a good discussion after the Galway game and there were a few home truths. Will they take it on board? I don’t know, but this is the last bite of the cherry.
‘There are matches coming up that are winnable, but we have to improve. We can’t keep making excuses. With three teams going down, there’s a very, very strong possibility we will be relegated if we lose to St Pat’s.
‘I hope the players read this and take it on board, and hopefully we’ll see a performance. It’s over to the players - the onus is on them.’
While Drogheda, one of the few part-time clubs in the top flight, were the bookies’ favourites for relegation this season, the manager felt he’d assembled a squad strong enough to stay up.
‘I thought we would be good enough to be fourth or fifth from the bottom. and I’m very disappointed at the way the season has gone.
‘I am the manager and made some signings at the start of the season that for one reason or another have not worked out. I feel the disappointment and the anger the supporters do.
‘We have a duty of care to the supporters, especially those who travelled to Galway on Friday, and who have supported us right through my time with Drogheda. I feel sorry for them because at the end of the day they are the lifeblood of the club.’
Mahon then steered the conversation towards other matters, and in particular Drogheda’s endless struggle just to survive financially, and he said that situation would have to change if the club were to become more competitive in the top flight.
‘It’s my job to put a winning team out on the pitch, but other factors determine that as well, the budget being one of them. We just can’t compete, and what our club needs - and it doesn’t matter where the manager is me or Jose Mourinho - is investment.
‘There are two prime examples. Look at Limerick from last season. They had major investment, and look at them now.
‘And look at Waterford, a team we beat four times last season. Would we beat them now? That’s debatable. They are attracting crowd of 2,000 in the First Division.
‘If we had investment to bring the club forward, the supporters would come, but a few people have said to me, do the people of Drogheda really want a League of Ireland club in the town. That’s a question that has to be asked. If we got another 400 or 500 people through the turnstiles, that would make a hell of a difference.’
In team news, Ciaran McGuigan (broken hand), Gavin Brennan (ankle ligaments) and Kevin Farragher (groin) remain out, while Ryan Masterson returned to training on Sunday and Richie Purdy could feature in tomorrow night’s session after recovering from a hamstring injury.
St Pat’s are likely to name Killian Brennan in their starting line-up after the eldest of the Rathmullen brothers returned to Richmond Park following his recent decision to leave his home-town club.
But whatever the result on Friday, Mahon said he wouldn’t be stepping down.
‘I will never jack it in. I mightn’t have a choice - that choice might be made for me - but the board know what’s going on. I speak to the chairman almost every day and he knows the effort I’m putting in.
‘This is not a boast, but there’s nobody out there who can do a better job than we are, given the resources. Now it’s over to the players to see what they’re really made of.’
•Drogheda United have been drawn away to last non-league Evergreen of Kilkenny in the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup first round, with the tie to take place on the week ending Sunday August 13th.