Russell – We can’t take our foot off the pedal

Limerick manager Martin Russell knows his side “can’t take the foot off the pedal”, after they extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 4-1 win over Drogheda United at United Park on Friday night.

The Shannonsiders were in cruise control for close on the full game after taking a three-goal lead inside the opening quarter-hour through Vinny Faherty, Ian Turner and Darragh Rainsford.
 

And while Drogheda pulled one back through Tiarnán Mulvenna, the game was put to bed before the break through Robbie Williams’ header.
 

Russell was pleased to see his players keep a clean-sheet in the second half, which they targeted at the interval, and overall he was delighted with a good night’s work.
 

“We got the start we wanted; we raced into a three-goal lead and then we’ve seen the game through,” Russell told LimerickFC.ie.
 

“I’m very pleased coming away from home in a critical tie, because we didn’t want them to open up a further gap. We wanted to close it and that’s what we’ve managed to do.
 

“When there is any type of break, you always want to keep the level of performance as high as possible. Again, we’ve come away from home, created loads of chances and worked hard in the second half not to concede, which we set a target for.
 

“There wasn’t much more you could ask for. I’m probably being really critical but I think we could have used the ball at times a little bit better. But, as I said, you’re nitpicking when you come away and win a vital game 4-1.”
 

Limerick were dealt a blow before the game with the late withdrawal of forward Dean Clarke, but Russell was pleased with his replacement Rainsford, while Val Feeney also got a run in the second half on the back of two impressive performances for the Under-19s over the previous five days.
 

“Dean had a tightness in his hamstring and considering the type of player he is you have got to watch that,” Martin explained. “Darragh came in; you want players to be ready to take their chance and impact, and he impacted. He took his goal great and played well throughout.
 

“We had a situation this season where losing became a drain on everybody in terms of we weren’t getting the rub of the green. Now, we’re getting that, we’re looking forward to each game and long may that continue.
 

“We try to monitor the lads that go down to the Under-19s and if their performance levels are decent they have got a fair chance of going into the shake-up, especially when you have a couple of injuries as well.
 

“That’s the nature of the squad. Similar to Darragh, the chances will be there and when they come, make sure you’re ready to take them.
 

“We closed it out in the second half; we talked to them at half-time and said try to not lose the second half, and in fact try to win it. We didn’t manage to win it but I think having the clean-sheet was an important target and good to get it.
 

“We know we’ve still got a lot of work to do but we look forward to the next game and see if we can keep our standards high.
 

“There are still a lot of points to play for and anybody within a certain points distance, with the amount of points that are left, can’t take anything for granted. Tonight, we’re glad that we’re a little bit closer, knowing that we can’t afford to take the foot off the pedal.
 

“When you look at all the fixtures for everybody, whether you’re playing against somebody around you or playing against somebody that is going for Europe or the league, it’s a hell of a run-in for each and every one of us.
 

“That’s good for the league. It should be competitive. As I said at the start of the season, I thought throughout the league that that everybody was capable of putting spanners in, and that seems to be the case. We’ve just got to try keep our run going as best we can.”