Bradley has great sympathy for axed Saints boss Daly

A decision by his local rivals to sack their manager just days before Shamrock Rovers meet St Patrick’s Athletic in a crunch Dublin derby could be an advantage for the Hoops.

But Rovers boss Stephen Bradley says the human element of a managerial sacking is overlooked as he fears there’s no safety net for a coach who loses his job.

Bradley’s former team-mate Seán O’Connor will take interim charge of Pat’s for tonight’s derby away to Rovers as FAI Cup-winning boss Jon Daly was sacked on Tuesday, less than six months after he delivered that trophy.

That was the third managerial casualty of the Premier Division season following earlier dismissals for Declan Devine and Stephen O’Donnell, and Bradley has sympathy for his former counterpart Daly.

“It’s the world we live in with social media and the pressures that come with that. If you open yourself up to that and listen to that, it can become really intense. People want results yesterday. I don’t know what St Pat’s expectations were at the start of the year, was the plan to go win the league?” Bradley said yesterday of that local clash as they look to improve following Monday’s loss at home to Waterford.

“It’s very often that managers are not protected in their contracts. It’s very, very difficult to sack a football player and rightly so as their contact protects them, but a lot of time that’s not the case for a manager, and people forget that.

“I understand that people have a reaction to league tables and results and have emotions. The world we live in today, people want results yesterday. In terms of social media, everyone has a voice and you understand that, but the human element is there is a man out of work. You don’t know anything about his (Daly) contract situation but a lot of the time in this country, the managers aren’t protected by their contracts and you can’t forget that when you’re speaking about any manager.

“He’s a family man with a family to support and bills to pay. That’s not a reason to keep someone in a job, I’m not saying that, but there has to be a human aspect as well and understand that he’s only human. Hopefully he is protected in his contract but a large majority of time in Ireland that is not the case,” added Bradley.

Bradley’s medical staff will be busy in the lead-up to the Pat’s game as they assess their injury victims. Neil Farrugia, Jack Byrne and Markus Poom, who were absent in recent weeks/months, are back involved but Byrne and Farrugia are not yet ready to start, despite sub appearances.

Rory Gaffney, Graham Burke and Darragh Burns will be assessed ahead of kick-off but Aaron McEneff, Seán Hoare, Lee Grace, Gary O’Neill and Richie Towell need more time.