Doolin ponders structure change
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Cork City go into the Setanta Cup as champions, though Paul Doolin is somewhat confused by yet another structural change to the cross-border competition.
“The format is obviously different again from last year. I think we’ve got three games before the season ends - Cliftonville and then Sligo next month before playing them again after the league finishes in November,” Doolin told Extratime after training yesterday afternoon.
“To be honest, nobody will know what position the club will be next year when the competition resumes. The Setanta Cup will be still going but it’s a long time away before it resumes and who knows what state we’ll be in by then? Obviously we’re going into it as Champions and we’ll want to put up a good fight and a decent show again.
“This is the third format we’ve had. There was the first one, and then the format last year but now it’s different again. Also, we’re playing on Saturday’s this time round and it’s hard to know whether it’s a hindrance or not.”
Since the competition started five years ago, three of the four finals have been won by clubs south of the border and Doolin believes that it’s dominated by the teams from the LoI and that’s the main reason for another change to the structure.
“It has been dominated by League of Ireland clubs and it’s probably changed again to make the competition more balanced. I would still say it’s a good competition as it has built a good relationship on and off of the field with other clubs. It’s definitely good from that point of view.”
Cork City players have hinted that they would delay kick-off tomorrow night in protest of their ongoing wage problem. Although they’ve been paid some of the monies owed in the past 48 hours, there is still a threat of some action from the players who were paid money owed from July. It’s a situation which the Dubliner describes as “mentally demanding.”
He added: “I think at this stage, we’re all just mentally drained. Even to be in this position in the league is a credit to us all. It has been literally every day and it’s taking over from the actual football.
“At the start of the year I said it would be tough down here anyway but we’ve lost players too. I said at the start when we met earlier in the season that the club needs to be stable to survive. And as everybody knows, we’ve been far from stable. It’s come to the stage now this week that everybody has had enough.”
Doolin admits that he hasn’t seen too much of tomorrows opponents Cliftonville recently. However, he knows they will be a difficult side to face and may use Cork’s problems to their advantage.
“I haven’t seen them live but I know that Cork had them last year in the group and when I was at Drogheda we had them in the same group. I know that they probably didn’t do as well as they expected in the league. They still got to the cup final, and I’m sure they’ll provide a difficult task. They’ve signed a few players at the start of the year and they’re a club that are trying to do things right.
“It’ll be a tough game and they’ll probably be looking at us as a club with unrest. They’ll feel it’s an opportunity to get a good result but I know our lads come match-time will be completely focussed on the task.”
Kick-off at Turner’s Cross is at 7pm.
“The format is obviously different again from last year. I think we’ve got three games before the season ends - Cliftonville and then Sligo next month before playing them again after the league finishes in November,” Doolin told Extratime after training yesterday afternoon.
“To be honest, nobody will know what position the club will be next year when the competition resumes. The Setanta Cup will be still going but it’s a long time away before it resumes and who knows what state we’ll be in by then? Obviously we’re going into it as Champions and we’ll want to put up a good fight and a decent show again.
“This is the third format we’ve had. There was the first one, and then the format last year but now it’s different again. Also, we’re playing on Saturday’s this time round and it’s hard to know whether it’s a hindrance or not.”
Since the competition started five years ago, three of the four finals have been won by clubs south of the border and Doolin believes that it’s dominated by the teams from the LoI and that’s the main reason for another change to the structure.
“It has been dominated by League of Ireland clubs and it’s probably changed again to make the competition more balanced. I would still say it’s a good competition as it has built a good relationship on and off of the field with other clubs. It’s definitely good from that point of view.”
Cork City players have hinted that they would delay kick-off tomorrow night in protest of their ongoing wage problem. Although they’ve been paid some of the monies owed in the past 48 hours, there is still a threat of some action from the players who were paid money owed from July. It’s a situation which the Dubliner describes as “mentally demanding.”
He added: “I think at this stage, we’re all just mentally drained. Even to be in this position in the league is a credit to us all. It has been literally every day and it’s taking over from the actual football.
“At the start of the year I said it would be tough down here anyway but we’ve lost players too. I said at the start when we met earlier in the season that the club needs to be stable to survive. And as everybody knows, we’ve been far from stable. It’s come to the stage now this week that everybody has had enough.”
Doolin admits that he hasn’t seen too much of tomorrows opponents Cliftonville recently. However, he knows they will be a difficult side to face and may use Cork’s problems to their advantage.
“I haven’t seen them live but I know that Cork had them last year in the group and when I was at Drogheda we had them in the same group. I know that they probably didn’t do as well as they expected in the league. They still got to the cup final, and I’m sure they’ll provide a difficult task. They’ve signed a few players at the start of the year and they’re a club that are trying to do things right.
“It’ll be a tough game and they’ll probably be looking at us as a club with unrest. They’ll feel it’s an opportunity to get a good result but I know our lads come match-time will be completely focussed on the task.”
Kick-off at Turner’s Cross is at 7pm.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile