Long - It's great to see the Jodi rocking

On Friday evening at Dalymount Park, Keith Long watched on from the dugout as his Bohemians side secured a 3-1 victory in the Dublin derby, thanks to three second half goals in a 17 minute period. After the game a delighted Gypsies boss spoke to Extratime.ie about his side’s victory.

“I can be nothing but pleased obviously,” Long revealed.

“Fantastic performance in the second half of our players, we were disappointed with our first half performance, we were a little bit off the pace, which is understandable considering the week we have had but hats off to the players each and every one of them were first class in the second half.

“I thought we fully deserved the victory and it’s great to see the Jodi rocking like it was after getting the goals, we [the Bohs squad] spoke about not leaving anything on the pitch, emptying the tank because they have got a break now so I’m delighted for them and roll on the second half of the season.”

With Friday being the third of three high profile games for Bohemians in the space of a week, the Gypsies boss was thrilled that his side secured six points from the fixtures against Dundalk, St Pats and Shamrock Rovers.

“Yeah, listen six points from nine against the teams we faced I think is a fantastic return for us. Fortune favours the brave sometimes in this game, and I think we’ve been brave. The players have worked really hard, they’ve looked after themselves and been very professional in their approach.”

Although on Friday evening It was the Bohs players who earned the victory on the pitch, Long was quick to praise the members of Bohemians FC who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the his players can perform when it matters.

“I’m delighted for everybody at the club, to be perfectly honest with you, the people involved running the club. The staff, day to day people, the volunteers that go unseen the work that they do. Tonight is a night for them that they can go and enjoy it, can have a drink and maybe reflect upon what a good victory it was.”

On Friday two of the home side's goals came from set plays and Bohs boss Long was quick to praise full back Lorcan Fitzgerald for his pinpoint deliveries that have provided key goals for the Gypsies in recent weeks.

“Listen his set piece delivery is first class, it has been from day one to be perfectly honest with you. I think I've lost count of how many goals or assists Lorcan has this season, it’s a vital part of the game set pieces are hugely important. Week in week out, we work on them and we’re getting our rewards from them at the moment.”

Despite having an ever growing injury list, which included two goal hero Dean Kelly, Long remains defiant that his Bohs squad have coped well with the injuries and whilst also pointing out that other players have stepped up to the plate when called upon.

“Dean’s been carrying a knock since the Galway game. [May 15] To be fair to him he’s made himself available, but he’s not always been one hundred percent. I think he came on and made a major impact tonight and that's what quality players do, but it's a squad game now, it's not about the one to eleven anymore.

It's about the strength of your squad and I think all our players with the exception of maybe one or two have been given an opportunity and game time, every one of them have stepped up to the plate so were really pleased it's a win against our nearest rivals. It’s sweet, but now got to take a week, reflect upon we need to do maybe in the upcoming transfer window to improve on things.”

When asked if he would be looking to make new additions to his Bohs squad Long was quick to stress that any new signing would have to be right for the club and fit the available budget.

“It will be difficult because we have a very limited budget, so once it falls within the remit of the criteria of the club's budget. We have to explore any options that become available”.