IT’S CLEARY TO ME THAT THEY’LL COPE

Dan backs Rovers youngsters to fill the injury void

DAN CLEARY reckons Shamrock Rovers’ young guns can cope with the heat of a Dublin derby against Bohemians.

An alarming injury crisis has forced Hoops boss Stephen Bradley to fill his bench in recent games with some of the Hoops’ top academy prospects.

Max Kovalevskis (right) and Matthew Britton – both just 16 – and fellow teens Cory O’sullivan, John O’sullivan and Cian Barrett have all seen action in the past week.

Bradley is hopeful that some of his more experienced stars will be taken off the injury list in time for tonight’s Dalymount Park clash.

Sean Hoare, Lee Grace, Gary O’neill, Aaron Mceneff, Jack Byrne, Markus Poom, Neil Farrugia, Graham Burke and Rory Gaffney all missed the 4-0 win over Drogheda United on Monday.

And Richie Towell picked up an injury in the first half to rule him out tonight – but Poom, Hoare, Byrne and Farrugia could be back. If Bradley does have to call on some of the younger members of his squad, however, Cleary is confident they will step up.

“I can’t remember playing in a team that has as many injuries but it does happen, you just have to get on with it,” said the defender. “You can’t dwell on it or keep talking about the lads who are injured.

“Anyone that steps into the team is ready to play, we’ve shown that in our squad already this season. There’s still quality all over the pitch to step in. The young lads came in on Monday night and got minutes.

“A lot of the young lads do step in in training and we see their quality, they are very good and have a lot of ability.

“It’s great for them that the manager trusts them, that’s the type of manager you need.

“Max came on and he’s only turned 16, God only knows what I was doing at that age.”

But the difference between playing in front of a less-thanhalf-filled Tallaght Stadium against Drogheda and a sold out Dalymount against Bohs could hardly be more stark.

However, Cleary has faith in Rovers’ more youthful players. “A lot of the young lads that come in know our system, know the way we want to play, know what the manager wants,” he said.

“Obviously you can get caught up in big games like that but I think when you’re young you’re naive to it. You can get on with it and just concentrate on your job.

“I think they’re ready for it. I’ve seen their ability and they showed it against Drogheda.

“You’ve seen the likes of Conan Noonan, Darragh Nugent have stepped straight into the first team and performed very well. I think the next batch is ready to go. There is bags of experience in our dressing room, lots of medals, lots of experience in Europe. I think we can drag the younger lads through.”

Cleary is definitely not getting carried away by the hype surrounding the most high-profile fixture on the calendar.

“I don’t look too far ahead, we’ve such a busy schedule, this is our fourth game in nine or ten days. Now we have two more so we can’t look too far ahead,” he said.

“It’s a great game to be part of, a great game for Irish football.

“The Dublin derbies are great to play in, great for the fans, always sell outs.

“But you can’t get caught in them too much because it’ll affect your performance as a team.

“We don’t change anything. We concentrate on our jobs.”