Dundalk exit Europe having grown in stature and confidence - Stephen O'Donnell reacts

From Brian T Farrell at the Netanya Stadium

It was an obviously disappointed Dundalk skipper Stephen O’Donnell who spoke to the media after the Lilywhites’ loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night. Their 2-1 defeat means they miss out on seeding in next season’s Champions League qualifying rounds but the Dundalk captain was able to look back with pride on what his club have achieved over a very 2016 campaign.

"I think gaining a point would have got us seeded for next year's Champions League and that was a huge target of ours as well but unfortunately we didn't get that,” said O’Donnell in the Netanya Stadium after the game.

"Overall if you had said to us at the start of the season, we would be in the group stages of the Europa League, we would have made our target. Now it's building blocks to hopefully progress for next season.

“We have been very competitive in the group. You can see how much our lads have grown in stature and confidence. The margins in a game are so close, we always back ourselves to get chances.”

Thanks to Daryl Horgan Dundalk had got themselves back into the game after giving away a penalty that they should have avoided, only for their good work to be undone by conceding another goal before half-time.

Such errors had begun to creep into their game as their Europe League group campaign came to a conclusion. They struggled for much of the second half in their attempt to get an equaliser, before in injury time missing a great chance to earn a draw – and a further €120,000 on top of the €6.6m they have earned in Europe to date.

“I’m just disappointed I suppose in the manor of the way the goals were conceded. It's something we have to learn from.

“We were maybe over ran a bit in the second half but we did get a foothold in the last fifteen minutes and created chances and unfortunately we just couldn't take them. We have a lot to take from the group but a lot to learn as well and a lot to improve on.”

With Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle more than likely making the move to play in the UK, O'Donnell has faith in decisions his manager will need to make on the squad for 2017.

"That's up to the manager and who he sees fit to keep and that will be answered in due course. When lads excel they will be taken and with the way one year contracts are, these players are easy pickings for the clubs in England. But when we lose players, we identify players we can bring in and that's what the manager is good at.”

O'Donnell had injuries during this lengthy European adventure and their relatively small squad has struggled to cope particularly in Europe. However, all the players can finally get a rest now that their incredible season has concluded.

"You never get tired or sick coming to places like this and having different environments and atmospheres and playing on a big stage. But yeah, our bodies do need a rest as including pre-season friendlies this is our 63rd game. We don't have a big squad and we are working from 18 or 19 players all season, so a lot of bodies do need rest.”