Pender says Bohs have the belief for European odyssey
DEREK PENDER is urging Bohemians players to believe they can still qualify for Europe through either the SSE Airtricity League or the Extra.ie FAI Cup on the back of Friday’s gritty 1-0 win over rivals Shamrock Rovers.
Pender, in interim charge along with Trevor Croly, was buzzing after Liam Burt’s 73rd-minute winner applied a tourniquet to the bleeding following three losses to the champions this season.
It was a first win in five league games and lifted the mood at Dalymount, following the passing of club stalwart ‘Mono’ Monaghan and the dismissal of Keith Long after eight years in charge.
‘We are not thinking about qualifying for Europe through the FAI Cup. Why can’t we go and win the remaining seven or eight games in the League and see where it takes us?’ said Pender. ‘If the players perform like they did on Friday, there is no reason we can’t do that.’
Bohs, who lie sixth in the table, need to make up 12 points in eight games to snatch a top-four finish.
As an incentive, they are away to secondplaced Derry next Friday and must also travel to St Pat’s (fourth) and Dundalk (third) before signing off at home to Sligo Rovers, who are fifth, on November 4.
Pender will demand more from matchwinner Burt in the coming weeks, which includes an FAI Cup quarter-final away to neighbours Shelbourne on Friday week.
‘Liam was unbelievable on Friday night. That’s what he has in terms of ability and we’ve not seen enough of that this season.’
Bohs have traditionally selected a
manager with a League of Ireland background but the club is seeking to appoint ‘the best candidate,’ according to Dan Lambert, the club’s chief operating officer.
‘There is no predetermined criteria that the next manager has to be Irish or from the League. Nor is there any rush. We’ve had lots of really good applications already,’ he said.
Should Croly and Pender pick off next Friday at the Brandywell where they left off against the Hoops, they would strengthen their claims for staying at the helm. Double acts can work in football management.
For Rovers, who had Dylan Watts sent off minutes before Burt’s breakthrough, this was an untimely setback before their Europa Conference League opener against Djurgardens on Thursday.
A win for Rovers guarantees a €500,000 bonus on top of their guaranteed €2.94m from UEFA’s treasure chest.
Bradley is targeting a top-two finish, which would be worth a further €625,000, but the Hoops will need to be sharper and hungrier than they were at Dalymount.