Play for points not plaudits

Is the Premier Division title race over before it has even started? Of course it is not but you would have to be a brave man to bet against a rampant Sligo Rovers.

I enjoy watching Sligo Rovers and their manager’s pragmatic approach to games. It would appear Ian Baraclough is a dying breed of manager in the sense that he seems to play the game on its merits. His brief comments on MNS recently gave a big insight of how he operates.

The Dalymount pitch was awful and not suited to progression football so he adapted his players mentality and his system of play to suit the conditions they were confronted with, and it worked perfectly for them securing a relatively comfortable victory.

I, like many others, felt Sligo’s biggest threat this season would be coming from Shamrock Rovers but a very slow start from the Hoops has left them with a hill that is fast becoming a mountain to climb unless a run of wins happens soon.

Yes there are only seven games gone but a good start is important for many reasons; one of the most important been that it allows you have slip ups later in the season, especially in the Premier Division. A good start for all intensive purposes is like an insurance policy; injuries, temporary loss of form and shock defeats are all part and parcel of a long arduous season. Points on the board early can mean any set backs later in the season won't be as detrimental as what they could have been with a slow start, similar to what the Hoops are currently experiencing.

Listening to Trevor Croly’s post match comments after the Hoops played Bohs in Dalymount, it was interesting to compare both managers thoughts while giving the viewers an insight on what the subtle but significant characteristically difference is between a coach and a manager.

Baraclough the manager assessed both pitch and opposition before devising a clever strategy whereby Sligo used the pitch as a weapon to beat Bohs by playing channel passes early and pressing a naive Bohs team high up the pitch forcing them into mistakes on a cabbage patch pitch,

Croly the coach on the other hand used the pitch as a reason why they lost the game and were unable to play attractive pass and move football. While Croly learns how to manage games as well as coaching sessions, Sligo will be looking at someone else as their main challengers, which will hugely disappoint the fantastic Shamrock Rovers supporters.

Baraclough plays for points not plaudits and for this reason I will be very surprised if Sligo Rovers don't retain their title this year along with one of the major cups.