Bohs want fast acting Rennie relief

2019 Dalyer win

JAMES AKINTUNDE believes Alan Reynolds is the ‘missing piece of the jigsaw’ that Bohemians need to kick on.

New boss ‘Rennie’ faces a baptism of fire away to arch rivals Shamrock Rovers tonight with over 10,000 supporters expected at Tallaght Stadium.

And striker Akintunde is confident the players will buy into Reynolds’ demands, having first hand knowledge of his ways.

The Englishman was at Derry City when Reynolds was assistant manager to Ruaidhri Higgings, but left for Bohs at the start of last season.

Reynolds has only had two training sessions with his new squad ahead of this derby, but wasted no time setting out his expectations.

Akintunde told Mirror Sport: “I was with the new manager at Derry and got on really well with him. I was delighted when he got appointed here.

“There are two sides to him - the banter side and the serious side.

He demands a lot from everyone and whatever he says you need to do it.

“If you have issues outside of football you know he’s the type of guy you can talk to about it. It’s good to have that.

Confident

“And on the football side, he’s very confident in what he’s doing. Even at Derry, you could see from his sessions that he’s a man with a lot of football knowledge.

“Our first session with him was on Wednesday and already it was very clear what he wants from us.

“The instructions were clear. He will demand a lot from the players but it’s our job to step up, meet those demands and take them on board.”

Reynolds succeeds Declan Devine who parted ways with the clubs after four games of the season, and having led them to the FAI Cup final last year.

But with the Gypsies now a full-time operation and the redevelopment of Dalymount Park gathering pace, Reynolds felt it was too big a job to turn down.

Akintunde agrees and reckons all the ingredients are in place for Bohs to kick on under their new manager.

“The facilities are great and the team is strong,” he said. “We have signed some very good players and sometimes it just takes a bit of time.

“But we feel we’re getting there and I think the new manager is a man of no fear and he can be the missing piece of the jigsaw. “Everything was up in the air for the last week or two after the previous manager left, but we responded by beating Derry at home and we have to kick on now.”