There’s still a lot to play for maintains manager Russell
Sixth-placed Bit O’Red have five games remaining in this season’s top flight NEXTUP
AS LEAST Sligo Rovers supporters could console themselves with this uncomfortable yet obvious fact – the current Shamrock Rovers side, who’ll probably win the title again, are very, very good.
That this was the only positive to be drawn from last Saturday’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division 3-1 loss to the Dublin Rovers means that
SLIGO Rovers manager John Russell has lamented the performance of his players last Saturday as they suffered a meek 3-1 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Shamrock Rovers.
The Bit O’Red struggled to find anywhere near the best level of performance against the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division leaders, whose efforts on the night were aided by uncertain passing and soft marking on the part of the hosts, who had lost their claim on fifth spot the previous night when Bohemians leapfrogged them to move a point ahead.
Russell admits that the performance was not a good look from his players who were sent out with a game plan but never looked like executing it.
“It probably looked that way [playing without a plan] and that’s how it panned out but that wasn’t the game plan. We tried to put a high press on them but their play was very fluid and there was moments we weren’t getting tight enough to players and I had to make changes looking for a reaction.” The extended break between this game and their previous outing – a 1-0 defeat away to Derry City on September 13 – could be seen as a contributing factor to Rovers’ dismal performance, but Russell said he is not accepting this as a valid excuse for a full-time team, but equally pointed out that this was the first time his side underperformed for a number of weeks.
“We have to quickly regroup, you have off nights in football and I am looking for a big reaction against UCD. These lads are professionals in full-time employment and we had two friendlies to keep everyone sharp before this. Before the Derry game we
UCD
(AWAY)
had three straight wins and could have drawn away to Derry, but we didn’t turn up tonight [Saturday].”
This was the first of six games that Russell had to do without goalkeeper Luke McNicholas who picked up a season-ending ankle injury while on duty with the Republic of Ireland U-21 squad last week.
Veteran netminder Richard Brush stepped in for a rare appearance last weekend and the manager also hinted that a first team debut may not be far
Streedagh or Enniscrone.
Put aside Shams’ Europa Conference League travails, as well as their shock
CONTEST: Sligo Rovers striker Max Mata holds off Rory Gaffney of Shamock Rovers and,
Shamrock Rovers playmaker Jack Byrne is tackled by Adam McDonnell during last Saturday night’s SSE Airtricity League Prremier Division fixture at The Showgrounds.
away for highly promising U-19 goalkeeper Conor Walsh.
“We’ve been very unlucky with injuries to the likes of Luke McNicholas, Mark Byrne and Garry Buckley, but it is an opportunity for other players to step up.
“I was happy with Brushie’s performance for someone who hasn’t played a lot. He had been training well and he dealt well with a lot of what was thrown at him. Conor has exit from the Extra.ie FAI Men’s Cup, when they play like this, with the gifted players at their disposal, they been doing well in training too, he has had to overcome some setbacks but he is back up to speed and he has a chance to make his debut in the next few games.”
When pressed on the pulsating performances at the start of games early on in his reign compared to now, Russell admitted his side have been flatter in how they have started more recent games.
He said, however, that this is part and parcel of being a work in progress and to reach the level Shamrock Rovers find themselves at as a ruthless, pressing unit does not happen overnight as his counterpart Stephen Bradley also had to endure similar trial and error style performances and results before finding the winning formula.
“There was a higher energy level in the start of the first few games compared to tonight, Shamrock Rovers showed their class and we couldn’t nick the ball off them or hold onto it long enough.”
Russell added: “Shamrock Rovers are the benchmark, its four or five years of hardwork to get to this point and that’s the level we need to get to and when you are a work in progress you are going to have nights where it won’t work out for you.”