Stephen Bradley on Euro campaign to come and reflecting on group stage football twice in three years: ‘I think people forget that we retained the league in 2022 and picked up two points in the group stages’

Whatever happens in Tallaght on Thursday with Shamrock Rovers trailing PAOK 4-0 in the second leg of their Europa League play-off, the Hoops will be in Friday’s draw in Monaco for elite level European club football this autumn and winter. 

Realistically Rovers know that it will be Conference League football for the second time in three seasons, unless they can pull off a miracle against the Greek champions. 

The Hoops were the first to break the barrier for a League of Ireland side in Europe by qualifying for the Europa League groups stages in 2011. Having qualified, they then went on to lose all six group games. Under Stephen Kenny, Dundalk got four points from their 2016 Europa League group campaign but when the Lilywhites made it there again in 2020 they lost all six matches.

There is talk in certain quarters that it was a disappointing European campaign for Rovers when they made the Europa Conference League group stages in 2022. It wasn’t something that Stephen Bradley was buying into when extratime.com spoke with the Hoops Head Coach this week about what the club faces over the next few months in Europe.

Criticism

“People on the outside like to criticise and it is easy to be negative,” said Bradley. “I think people forget that we went and retained the league in 2022 and picked up two points (in the group stages).”

Rovers drew their opening group game at home to Djurgardens. The Swedish side then went and topped the group by winning their next five matches. Rovers also drew at home with Gent who, after finishing runners up in the group, went on to lose the quarter-final to eventual competition winners West Ham United. 

Rovers’ form at home in that full European campaign was sensational – winning four matches (including beating both Ludogorets and Ferencvaros), drawing those two group games, with their only loss coming against Molde in a match Bradley felt his team should have won. 

“We should have beaten Molde here in Tallaght. There was a goal three yards offside that they scored. We focus on what we do and understanding some of it was good in the group stages then and we took a lot of learnings. We will be better for it this time around but we don't listen to people's opinions.”

Winning the league in 2022 was all the more remarkable as Rovers had to play all six Europa Conference League group games while juggling domestic matters. Due to the World Cup in Qatar in December that year, the group stages were played in a condensed format finishing before Rovers had even played their final league match.

Different format

It is a different scenario this time around. The Hoops are off the pace in the title race but not without a chance of making if five-in-a-row if they could put a winning streak together. That is something they have done in previous seasons but they have not looked likely to do so this year.

The Conference League doesn’t start till October with matches in the first and third week of that month. The League of Ireland Premier Division will finish on Friday 1 November after which Rovers will play four more games in Europe on 7 and 28 November, and 12 and 19 December. 

Swiss Model and Scandinavian friendlies

In 2011, it was a similar situation for Michael O’Neill’s Rovers side who finished the league on 28 October before playing PAOK the following week. The Hoops slotted in a friendly away to Malmo on 23 November ahead of their final two group games – away to Rubin Kazan on 30 November and home to Spurs on 15 December.

There is no home and away matches against the teams this time around under the new Swiss Model competition format. Another Scandinavian friendly is likely on the horizon for the Hoops this year according to Bradley.

“It is good that after Thursday we don't have a European game for a month and that will allow us to freshen up. We still have a lot of league games in September but not a lot of travel so that is good. When Europe comes around in October, we will have to look at the load on the players.

"We will have to give them time off when the calendar allows. There is a period when we will have three weeks off so it is important that the players get some time off then as well and then we build them back up. There will be a knock on effect for next year as well.

“We will look to see if there are Scandinavian teams that we aren’t playing in the league stage that we can play (in a friendly). They could come over or we could go over to them. We will see when the draw is made (on Friday). We will contact a few and I'm sure we can arrange games fairly easily.”

New signings

In 2011, O’Neill signed two players after the Hoops qualified for the group stages by beating Partizan Belgrade with Rohan Ricketts and Jim Patterson joining the squad. In 2022, the only addition Rovers made to their squad was Viktor Serdemyuk.

This time around the Hoops had signed Marc McNulty just before the Celje tie in the third qualifying round and have brought Danny Mandroiu back to the club.

“We noticed the last time we were in it that we needed that (extra players). Danny is one that slots straight back in. We have wanted him for a long time now. It was great to get him in. He knows what we do and how we work. Danny is such a threat in the final third.

"He plays with such speed and tempo and there is only one thought in his mind; he is thinking how can I hurt them and score.

“We are trying to build him up. Marc is the same as he hasn't played a game in a long time. September with a lot of games gives us an opportunity to get them up to speed for the European campaign to come.”