Caulfield focused on further improvements

THERE is something in the quietly confident way John Caulfield goes about his business that has League of Ireland circles starting to sit up and take notice. Having managed in amateur football for over a decade, the former striker arrived at Cork City with a plan - and though it was all about bringing the club to life in the longer term, the ‘Rebel Army’ is already reaping some early rewards.

With a draw against the reigning champions St. Pat’s and four additional wins from the club’s first five League fixtures, there’s an undoubted buzz around City at the moment. Add to that two bumper crowds in excess of 5,000 and three top quality strikers yet to return to his playing group, there was no hiding the smile on Caulfield’s face following his side’s 3-0 win over Shamrock Rovers.

“The lads played so well. I must watch the video again but we created a lot in the first half. We scored one, had one disallowed. We created another two or three chances. I thought we were exciting to watch, and when you look at Rovers and the players they have, I thought we gave a really good performance,” Caulfield said, speaking after the game.

“We had another clean sheet. The lads across the back were superb. The lads in the middle of the park worked so hard. I was told Mark O’Sullivan wasn’t up to the standard on the first day of the season but he hasn’t surprised myself or John (Cotter). He’s proven that he’s up to the mark fairly quickly, to be fair to him.

“You can see what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to build a strong, local side. The players that we have a real strong, local identity in the club and we also have the likes of Billy and Darren Dennehy from down the road (Kerry) and Michael Rafter from just up the road (Tipperary). We have a lot of city and county players, and you can see that they want to do this for the club.”

Despite taking 13 points from a possible 15, no one is getting carried away just yet. Caulfield pronounced himself satisfied with his team’s points haul so far but is anxious to have injured strikers Anthony Elding, Danny Morrissey and Michael Rafter back to bolster this attacking options as soon as possible, while former Sligo Rovers man Iarfhlaith Davoren has also joined the club.

“The League is a marathon. We’re ahead in the sprint at the moment, there’s a long, long way to go and I can’t ask anymore (of my players),” the City boss insisted. “We haven’t been near the top of the Premier for six or seven seasons. The support has always been there for the club and the fans want to go out and support a passion, enthusiastic team. 

“Our lads sense that. The first night (against St. Pat’s) we were nervous early on but there was no nervousness (against Rovers). They knew the crowd was going to be huge. The crowd were, in fact, our 12th Man from the minute the game started. We were ready to go from the start and it proved that way.

“There are lots of areas that we’re trying to improve but, at the same time, we have assembled a new team so it will take a bit of time. The players have taken to it like ducks to water - their attitude has been fantastic - they are all willing to put the shift in, and you can see that in our performances. You can see it when we score goals, you can see the spirit in our team, you can see it in the clean sheets. 

“If we keep our heads down and work as hard as we can, we’ll be in a better position than we have been the last couple of years. That’s our aim, that’s our challenge - to try and break into the top four and the early indications are that we can.”