Sligo Rovers boss John Coleman takes charge of his first home European game on Thursday evening when his side welcome Lithunian outfit FK Banga.
The teams played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg and a result for The Bit O'Red would see them progress through a round of a European competition for the first time since 1994.
This will be Coleman's fourth game in charge since succeeding Ian Baraclough as manager. He talked about the effort he has seen from his players since his appointment.
“It has been very good. They have been a little bit down in the dumps,players get like that. I have been around in football long enough to understand that things can go a bit stale and things can get a bit uncomfortable or sometimes in another case, too comfortable. Flat spots can occur in seasons. It is how you get out of them as quick as possible. Obviously a change is designed to aid that process, make it quicker, we have tried to bring in some new things. We have not tried to overly change the style of play but certainly change the ethos of how we play. We have to be more forceful and on the front foot and play more exciting football. We want to enthuse ourselves and the fans and I think the players are buying into that.”
John admits that he was disappointed to come away from Gargdzai without a goal last week, but believes his players have what it takes and he is confident of ending his club's poor European run.
“It is well-balanced. I am disappointed that we did not get the away goal. We cannot get obsessed with them getting an away goal. If we win the game we go through, it is as simple as that and that is what our objective is going to be. I know we are good enough but it does not always grant you the passage to where you want to be. I am pleased with the quality we have got, I am pleased with the work-rate and effort that the players have shown in the short space of time that I have been here. We are not going to take anything for granted, you just don’t turn up on the pitch and expect it to happen. It is going to take a lot of hard work, possibly a little bit of luck and a bit of quality as well. I think we have enough of that. I am really looking forward to it, even just being around the town a bit, you can feel the buzz and you could feel the buzz from Sunday's game against Cork. Hopefully it will be a special night in Rovers history and my own history.”
Much emphasis has been put on the attacking style of football under Coleman, but in three games he has seen his defence, often with players out of position, conceded just one goal coming from the penalty spot. He has been pleased with efforts at the back.
"We have been defending very well, I thought the two centre-halves had very good games on Sunday and we also had Seamus [Conneely] playing in an unfamiliar position at left-back. The first thing we have got to do is attack and sometimes attack is the best form of defence, but that certainly is not to say we will go in gung-ho and all guns blazing, we do work on our defensive shape. The players respect how we have set up and try to take the club forward."
The Liverpudlian has refused to put too much focus on Rosenborg in the next round should they qualify and only has his eye on the next game as it comes.
"As soon as the first leg was finished, we were just looking at the game against Cork. The European games are important and, I know it's a cliche, but we have to take each game as it comes because your next game is always the most important one and we have to set out to try and win each and every one of them. Every game we play from now until my time is up at the club, I will set out to win every game, no matter who we play or what is at stake.
About Alan Finn
Alan Finn is a Sligo based reporter who joined the Extratime crew in 2012. If there is a match on in The Showgrounds, it is likely you will find him there. View Full Profile
