Scully - We can't afford to slip further behind
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Pat Scully yesterday admitted that even though the season is still just six games old, his Shamrock Rovers side can't afford to slip further behind early leaders St Pat's. The Rovers manager went on to speak about his sides recent defeats to Bohemians and Cobh Ramblers, as well as giving an update on team news ahead of tomorrow’s nights clash with UCD.
Scully has always set high standards and clearly still sees his side having a big part to play in where this year's title goes - "We don't want to, and can't afford to, slip any further behind the leaders St Pat's, even though it's still very early on in the season. We want to stay close”. Rovers currently sit in sixth position with ten points. St Pat's are already five points ahead of Rovers and lead the table with an impressive fifteen points from six games.
Like he did on many occasions last season, Scully was quick to take the focus away from his players - "I take full responsibility for these recent results – it's just not good enough and it's not acceptable. But we've got to move on and put these results behind us.”
Rovers were far from their best in the games against Bohs and Cobh but at the same time they didn't necessarily play that badly. On many occasions last season they would have played poorer and still picked up three points - and the same will probably happen again before this season is over. Scully went on to say "It's been a disappointing couple of weeks. While the performances haven't been poor, the results have been. Shamrock Rovers isn't just about performances – this is a club that demands results".
Club captain Aidan Price and young striker Padraig Amond are still ruled out, however the pair have returned to training and both featured as second half substitutes in an A Shield game against Malahide Utd last Sunday. Midfielder Chris Mulhall is still out with a knee injury and Pat Flynn is once again suspended - however the former Waterford defender will be available for selection next week.
Darren Stapleton is again a minor doubt with a thigh strain. Ger O’Brien’s knee injury is still causing him problems, however it shouldn't curtail his involvement. Striker Tadhg Purcell made his first league start of the season last week in Cobh when he was the preferred strike partner for Dessie Baker. Alan Murphy had to make do with a place on the bench.
Scully is targeting a win from Fridays UCD game and wants his side back in the habit of winning games as soon as possible - "We've got to make sure - despite those bad couple of results in recent weeks - that we regain the momentum we had at the start and stay in and around the top of the table."
For further coverage of Fridays game between Shamrock Rovers and UCD please see Mahon expects a UCD win and Preview: Shamrock Rovers vs UCD
Kick off at Tolka Park is at 8pm
