Mathews refuses to be drawn into relegation talk
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Drogheda United may find themselves rooted to the bottom, seven points adrift, but manager Alan Mathews is refusing to panic. The Dubliner has branded any talk of panic “Stupid” and admits that he is somewhat annoyed at being asked this question week in week out by reporters.
“The reality is we have played nine games, there is no secret as to where we are. If at the end of the season we have enough points we will stay up, ideally we would like to have 33 points or 43 or whatever is the maximum we can take but we have three points which is a very poor return for the effort and commitment the players have put in.
“I am not going to panic or feel pressured; there is enough pressure to win games every week without worrying about our current position.
“Perhaps in the next round of games we may not play as well and yet pick up more points, but we have to keep plugging on and keep positive, I’m positive, I feel that when we get everybody back and ready we will be in a position to pick up more points in the next round of games, that’s my aim,” he added.
Speaking about the nil all draw at home to Sligo last week Mathews felt that the squad had dropped two points and despite a good performance were somewhat lacking in the final part of the pitch.
“We lacked a quality in the final third for all the positive attitude and commitment by the players we have to convert.”
“I felt we were more dominant when Sligo had eleven men and they will be happy to come away with the point, for me it’s another two points dropped.”
“We are lacking a lot of things, and the main thing is resources. When you take on the season that we are taking on with such a narrow squad and your resources are depleted as heavily as ours are you end up not playing with strikers.
We have played the last few games with midfielders up front and against Sligo we started with seventeen year old William Woods partnering Jamie Duffy up front. That’s only going to get you so far, and it’s unfortunate that for all our good play we can’t convert when we are on top.”
Mathews had a lot of praise for both Eoghan Osborne and William Woods, the rising stars of DUFC, but said that it was disappointing that he had to rely on them so early in the league citing the fact that it is a man’s league but has said that they both have grown up and adapted pretty fast.
Drogheda host Derry City this Friday night in what will be another tough encounter for the Boynesiders as they have already tasted defeat to Stephen Kenny’s men this year going down 1-0 at the Brandywell in the opening game of the season. But if Mathews’s positive attitude persists Drogheda may well find themselves claiming a victory in the near future.
“The reality is we have played nine games, there is no secret as to where we are. If at the end of the season we have enough points we will stay up, ideally we would like to have 33 points or 43 or whatever is the maximum we can take but we have three points which is a very poor return for the effort and commitment the players have put in.
“I am not going to panic or feel pressured; there is enough pressure to win games every week without worrying about our current position.
“Perhaps in the next round of games we may not play as well and yet pick up more points, but we have to keep plugging on and keep positive, I’m positive, I feel that when we get everybody back and ready we will be in a position to pick up more points in the next round of games, that’s my aim,” he added.
Speaking about the nil all draw at home to Sligo last week Mathews felt that the squad had dropped two points and despite a good performance were somewhat lacking in the final part of the pitch.
“We lacked a quality in the final third for all the positive attitude and commitment by the players we have to convert.”
“I felt we were more dominant when Sligo had eleven men and they will be happy to come away with the point, for me it’s another two points dropped.”
“We are lacking a lot of things, and the main thing is resources. When you take on the season that we are taking on with such a narrow squad and your resources are depleted as heavily as ours are you end up not playing with strikers.
We have played the last few games with midfielders up front and against Sligo we started with seventeen year old William Woods partnering Jamie Duffy up front. That’s only going to get you so far, and it’s unfortunate that for all our good play we can’t convert when we are on top.”
Mathews had a lot of praise for both Eoghan Osborne and William Woods, the rising stars of DUFC, but said that it was disappointing that he had to rely on them so early in the league citing the fact that it is a man’s league but has said that they both have grown up and adapted pretty fast.
Drogheda host Derry City this Friday night in what will be another tough encounter for the Boynesiders as they have already tasted defeat to Stephen Kenny’s men this year going down 1-0 at the Brandywell in the opening game of the season. But if Mathews’s positive attitude persists Drogheda may well find themselves claiming a victory in the near future.
About P.J. Murray
P.J. generally covers Drogheda games at HD Park and can generally be found at any Dublin ground when of a loose end on a Friday night. View Full Profile