ROVERS TO CALL ON YOUNG BLOOD
‘Youngsters will hit the ground running’
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 that they will step up to the occasion.
Dwell
“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.
“With the lads that are missing there’s still quality there 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 his job as a roofer to go fulltime with Bohs this season.
“I can’t complain,” he said. “I’ve seen the hard part of it so this is definitely a treat for me. I’m loving it and enjoying going in every day and being prepared to work hard.
“You’re looking forward to every game as every ground seems to be selling out and rightly so,” said the 26-year-old.
“It’s a great product, great value for money and the talent is there and improving all the time. It’s good football in this league and long may it continue.”
The Ballymun man will have loads of friends in the crowd 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 15 (he just turned 16), God only knows what I was doing at 15.”
The difference between playing in front of a less-than-half-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 naïve 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), Nudger (Nugent) have stepped straight into the first team and performed very well. I think the next batch is ready to go. tonight, with the vast majority of his mates all Bohs fans.
“I got a lot of stick from them over the years, saying ‘why do you not play for Bohs’,” he laughed. “But now it has finally happened and it’s great to see them happy.
“The phone is busy coming up to a game like this, lads coming out with all sorts!
But Rooney accepts that Bohs will have to buck up if they are to sink the champions at Dalymount.
Rovers warmed up with a
4-0 demolition of Drogheda on Monday while the Gypsies were stuffed 2-0 at bottom side Dundalk last Friday - and it could have been worse.
“There is bags of experience in our dressing-room, lots of medals, lots of experience in Europe. The likes of Pico (Lopes) too. I think we can drag the younger lads through.
“There is loads of experience to cope with these types of games. I think we’re ready.”
Hype
Cleary himself is definitely not getting carried away by the hype surrounding the most high-profile fixture on the Premier Division calendar.
“For me, I approach every game the same,
I didn’t even know who we had this weekend until two days (before the Drogheda game),” he admitted.
“I don’t look too far ahead, we have 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.
They arrived at Oriel Park chasing a fourth win in-a-row but were trailing by those two goals at half-time and never looked capable of mounting a comeback.
Great
“It wasn’t a good night,” said Rooney. “The least you should start with is to work as hard as the opposition. It wasn’t a great night.
“We knew we couldn’t put it down to one or two players. It was the whole lot of us and we never got going. It just wasn’t enough.
“It’s hard to get it right every night but hopefully it’s a once off.”
“It’s a great game to be part of, a great game for Irish football.”
He added: “I don’t think you can get caught up in this derby thing too much.
“The Dublin derbies are great to play in, great for the fans, always sell outs, but you can’t get caught in them because it’ll affect your performance as a team.”