Keely preparing for make or break year
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Shelbourne boss Dermot Keely is not one to hold back and that is why he thinks 2010 will be a 'make or break' year for his team.
Having come close to clinching promotion from the First Division in the last two seasons, the outspoken 56-year-old feels that The Reds need to go a step further this term and secure a route back in the top flight.
While it won't be an easy task to top the table, Keely believes the time for the Dublin club to fulfil their potential has arrived as this is the final year of a three-year plan that he devised on his return to Drumcondra in 2007.
"We have to shit or get off the pot. It's make or break year, well at least for me," said Keely when tackling the issue of promotion this season.
"When we started off this is the year we aimed for. We have played two seasons and we can't say we have been unlucky every season.
"You can't make judgements so early in the season. We have started again from scratch, with four or five [players] from last year. Winning or losing is not important. There are a lot of new faces and I just want to see how they blend [in]." Shels got their pre-season off to a scrappy start after edging past Drogheda United in a 1-0 friendly win on Thursday evening, but there were some good points to pick up on, like the impact that Marc Hughes made.
Hughes scored the only goal on the night and put in a good performance for his new club, which delighted Keely who admits that he was rebuffed when he first tried to recruit the player.
"I tried to sign him [Hughes] in the off-season directly but he wanted to have a bash at Bohs full-time and who could blame him," said Keely.
"But then they got a few centre forwards and I went back and asked Pat [Fenlon] for him and Pat said grand, sure he needs football. He is always going to get goals, but physically he needs to grow a bit."
Even though he has been able to bolster his squad with some exciting signings Keely has no further plans to add to his panel ahead of the new campaign.
"All the ingredients are in the pot now and whether it does what it says on the can after all that I don't know," he explained.
"Sure I have no more money, anyone that wants to come and play for free are more than welcome to do so."
Having come close to clinching promotion from the First Division in the last two seasons, the outspoken 56-year-old feels that The Reds need to go a step further this term and secure a route back in the top flight.
While it won't be an easy task to top the table, Keely believes the time for the Dublin club to fulfil their potential has arrived as this is the final year of a three-year plan that he devised on his return to Drumcondra in 2007.
"We have to shit or get off the pot. It's make or break year, well at least for me," said Keely when tackling the issue of promotion this season.
"When we started off this is the year we aimed for. We have played two seasons and we can't say we have been unlucky every season.
"You can't make judgements so early in the season. We have started again from scratch, with four or five [players] from last year. Winning or losing is not important. There are a lot of new faces and I just want to see how they blend [in]." Shels got their pre-season off to a scrappy start after edging past Drogheda United in a 1-0 friendly win on Thursday evening, but there were some good points to pick up on, like the impact that Marc Hughes made.
Hughes scored the only goal on the night and put in a good performance for his new club, which delighted Keely who admits that he was rebuffed when he first tried to recruit the player.
"I tried to sign him [Hughes] in the off-season directly but he wanted to have a bash at Bohs full-time and who could blame him," said Keely.
"But then they got a few centre forwards and I went back and asked Pat [Fenlon] for him and Pat said grand, sure he needs football. He is always going to get goals, but physically he needs to grow a bit."
Even though he has been able to bolster his squad with some exciting signings Keely has no further plans to add to his panel ahead of the new campaign.
"All the ingredients are in the pot now and whether it does what it says on the can after all that I don't know," he explained.
"Sure I have no more money, anyone that wants to come and play for free are more than welcome to do so."
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