North hoping for Cup Final starting place

Since returning from injury, Danny North has been on a mission to regain his fitness and form while having to fight for his place up front with a number of other players.

The striker ended Sligo Rovers League campaign with a winning goal against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium and, speaking to local press, he says he is hopeful that strike will go a long way to securing his starting in place in a very competitive squad.

“Obviously I hope I will be starting, everyone wants to play in Cup Finals, I’m no different and after getting the winner (on Friday) I would think I have got a good chance.

“There’s a lot of competition, you can see in training everyone is fighting for those eleven places. I would say seven or eight have already been picked and then there are a small few the gaffer is still deciding on.

“I think there was only one time this season when we had a full selection of players to choose from. I expect Joey (Ndo) to be back for the Final, and that will give the gaffer more problems and at the end of the day if he picks the right team and we win the Cup that’s all that matters.”

Preparations have been different for Sunday’s Final, but North has stressed that he and his teammates must treat this week’s training like they would any other.

“It’s a bit different for us, this week we have had to get suits sorted, we have media days like this and staying overnight in Dublin, but we have to treat training as we would any other week and not let the excitement of Sunday get to you.”

Following a serious injury that ruled him out for almost a year, the Grimsby native feels he has regained much of his fitness, but has struggled without a full pre-season schedule this season.

“Since coming back after doing one of my hamstrings in the summer, I have been available for every squad so I think I am fully fit. It’s just a matter of getting sharper and sharper and it was always going to be the case this season to try and get back to where I was which is hard to do without a pre-season because I had to play catch-up with the other lads, but I hope to get a full pre-season in in next year and hopefully get back to my best.”

North has warned against getting complacent against Drogheda United this weekend, describing them as a determined, dogged side who don’t give up.

“They are one of those teams you hate to play against because they are dogged, they are determined and they go for everything, they are a team that never gives up. They might not have the same quality as us in the squad, but they certainly match us with the work rate and effort they put in and they are a team that will be in your face all the time.

“We can’t let our guard down and become complacent, we seen earlier in the season when Aaron Greene scored in the 90^th minute, we thought it was all over, but they went up the other end and scored so it shows you how quickly these things can happen, so we have to be on top of our game and we know it’s going to be tough but we have got to fancy ourselves because what’s the point in going into a Cup Final if you are half-doubting what you can do?”