Expectations high because so much was promised
NO matter where you go in town these days, people are talking about Sligo Rovers. Whether it’s the supermarket, pub, post- office or Penneys, you can’t escape discussion on what’s been happening this season.
Despite the hugely disappointing crowd of 1,087 on Friday night, the interest is still there among the people of Sligo, some are just choosing not to go to games as a sort of protest.
There are two sides to this, you can say if they were fans then they should be going to games regardless of who is manager, how games are going, and what rugby is on.
But the other side of the argument is, you have to give them a reason to keep coming back. And the more casual fans have been given no reason to keep coming to games after the opening three games of the season.
I can’t blame them. And I don’t think anyone will. It does feel kind of soon to be making judgements on the season ahead given the fact that there is still plenty of time to turn things around.
But we are yet to see any positive signs that things will come good. Obviously that can change with the flick of a switch and I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong on this.
It’s all good and well urging fans to come along to games but to do that the product has got to be attractive. Would anyone have been entertained Friday night? Probably not.
I will say, however, it was absolutely crucial that Rovers didn’t lose on Friday night. That Pats side is one of the poorest that I, personally, have ever seen and they too are going through a period of uncertainty.
You’re looking at the league’s poorest teams, currently, as being Sligo Rovers, Galway, Finn Harps and St. Patrick’s Athletic.
Ourselves and Pats should never be in this position. Liam Buckley has made a lot of changes to the squad this year and perhaps they will come together eventually.
But we don’t care about Pats, they’re not my concern. Unless it comes down to a relegation dogfight and it’s between the two of us.
The next handful of games are crucial. Cork City last night aside, the next games are ones that we can potentially pick up points from - I stress the word ‘ potentially’.
Bray are going to be relatively strong, and given our recent form against them in the league we can’t take that game for granted. Both Finn Harps and Galway follow, and those are both away trips.
Our poor form away from home last season was largely what prevented us from getting that fourth spot in the table, along with poor results against Bray and Harps.
Should the manager be given time, which I assume he will, then those games are absolutely vital and if we come out of the next three games with no points then we are in trouble.
Something’s got to change now before it’s too late and we’re in a season long relegation battle.
Managers never want to admit that they are under pressure, particularly not from external sources, and Dave Robertson is no different. Whether he feels the pressure or not from fans, he’s not letting us know. He refuses to show any signs of weakness.
I think anyone who has either managed or played for Sligo Rovers in recent years will tell you that we’re a hard bunch to please. Maybe that’s because we as fans expect too much. Or maybe we are promised too much, promised things that are never delivered. It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other. This season is somewhat different though. Brian Kerr made a statement on Soccer Republic after the opening night of the season where he said: “I think expectations of Sligo Rovers fans are often out of sync with reality”.
If he said that any other year I would be inclined to agree with him. Not this year though. If you based your opinions solely on what was achieved last season and what the aims for this year were, then that’s why you’ll feel so disillusioned with how things are going.
With three teams going down there’s probably at least six who will feel nervous - that’s without even considering how the season has gone so far for everyone.
Even teams like Limerick, Bray and Drogheda will be slightly worried too. Not just the ones who are struggling.
We have expectations, yes, but those were lowered by some when the transfer window didn’t quite live up to those expectations.
What we saw in pre- season didn’t exactly give us any reason to be excited, even though little can be taken from those games.
But to be starting another season questioning a manager’s competence and ability to do the job is just disastrous and it takes away from the enjoyment for some people.
The reality is, if this spell continues then we’re going to be looking at the smallest attendances The Showgrounds has seen for years.
The aim for this season was to earn European football. We have a long way to go before that can become a reality - and with only a handful of games played, we need to turn this season around immediately and start picking up points.