Home But Not Dry - Shiels

Midfielder Paul Shiels is confident that Dundalk can finally lay their Monaghan bogey to rest this weekend. However, he has refused to look ahead at possible permutations as the title race is edging ever closer to its conclusion. Should the Lilywhites rattle off six wins on the spin, beginning this Sunday, they will be crowned league champions at home to Limerick next month with two games to spare. Though, while that is a fact, it is much easier said than done according to a player who is chasing his fourth career promotion, having previously achieved the feat with Monaghan (2001), Dublin City (2005) and Shamrock Rovers (2006).

“I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as that,” Shiels admitted to dundalkfc.com. “I think, to be honest, we have to take it one game at a time. At the end of this week, we could only be a point ahead, and then everyone is panicking again. There’s going to be ups and downs, I have no doubt about that. To be honest, I have no doubt that Shels and Fingal aren’t out of it yet. Don’t get me wrong, I think we’re capable of going out and winning six games, but when you’re trying to close in on a league, it’s very difficult. Teams maybe tend to slip-up and a little bit of panic and a little bit of edginess sets in. We’re capable of winning six games, but if we do or if we don’t, I wouldn’t panic one way or another.

“There’s eight games left and that’s hard to believe - the season has flown by. But there’s still eight games to go and there’s six or seven weeks of hard training left. It is difficult not to look ahead; you can sort of see the finishing line in sight and you’re thinking to yourself ‘I’d love to be so many points ahead with so many games left’ and ‘imagine if we won it’, but I think, in fairness, we have a strong squad here and strong mentalities. A lot of us have been there before. I think everybody would look ahead and hope and pray that we do it, but I think we have a lot of people that have been there and done it before, and we know it’s far from over. I think there will be ups and downs, and there’ll be little twists and turns here and there. But, hopefully, at the end, we’ll make it.”

Shiels, a native of Clones, spent eight years in the senior set-up at Monaghan before finally leaving in 2004. He has played there since for both Dublin City and Shamrock Rovers, however, having been suspended when Dundalk last visited in May, this will be Shiels’ first ever outing at the venue in a Lilywhites shirt - something he is looking forward to. “I always like going back to Monaghan,” the 28-year-old said. “I know a lot of people don’t like going up there, they call it a graveyard, but Monaghan is my home club, I have very fond memories up there and I love going back up. I know some people don’t like going there but, to be honest, I love going back home. I love the surroundings, it’s where I grew up, so I have absolutely no problem going there - I’m actually looking forward to it.

“I know myself when I was at Monaghan, whenever Dundalk came up, it was probably the one game in the year that you’d really look forward to. They have a few local lads on the team and they’ll be well up for it but, at the end of the day, we’re going for a league, so every team we play, whether it be in Oriel or anywhere else, they’ll be playing at 110% against us. It’s up to ourselves to match them, then show a little bit of quality and get our three points. To be fair, Monaghan don’t get that big of crowds up there. They get very small crowds, so when Dundalk go up, they always bring a big support, and all players like playing in front of big crowds, whether it’s at home or away and whether they’re shouting for or against you. When there’s a big crowd there, you tend to raise your game.

“For the Monaghan players, it’s like something new for them. It’s kind of like a carnival or a funfair coming to town when Dundalk come up, because there’s a good crowd, the place is buzzing and the bar is buzzing, so it’s very easy for them to raise their game. But, as I say, every ground you go to, they do it anyway. As much as there’s local lads on Monaghan, there’s a lot of Dublin lads too, there’s a few lads that played for Dundalk before as well, there’s lads that have been around the league, and it’s a big game for them. They’re playing a team that’s top of the table, it’s a scalp for them and they’ll want to win. It’s their home patch and they have a decent record up there, so they’ll give us a tough game.”

Dundalk have not won at Kingspan Century Park since July 2006 - drawing two and losing two of their subsequent four trips. Shiels also met with trouble at the ground when part of the Shamrock Rovers squad which won the title that year, as the Hoops could only take two draws from their two visits. “I played the second one (with Rovers), I wasn’t there for the first one,” Shiels recalls. “It was 2-2. We were twice ahead and they twice came back. It was under lights, there was a big crowd at it and they raised their game. I don’t know what it is about them, but they have a knack of getting results against the big teams up there. But all those results are in the past, you can’t go by them. This is a new game and it’s a pitch the same size as any other pitch; we just have to go about our work and get the three points.

“When we go down there, we have to get out of our head this mentality that we can’t go down and win. I have no doubt that we can go down and win, and we have to win. Three points is absolutely vital, to be honest. It is tough down there and I think it’s a bit of a mentality thing. People say ‘it’s only Monaghan’ and this and that, and you’re kind of half beat before you go out on the pitch. But I think Monaghan have actually hit a little bit of decent form, so we’re going down, we’ll be on our toes and we’ll not be complacent. Once we go down, give it 110% and go about our work in the right way, I think we’ll be alright.”

This fixture has been rearranged to a Sunday afternoon kick-off after the original date of Friday night clashed with a fundraising evening for Dundalk. And, Shiels admits that the daytime start will give the game a different feel. “It will be slightly different,” he acknowledged. “I much prefer to play under lights, to be honest. The last few games at Oriel, you can see the different atmosphere. There’s something about night games under lights, it makes it feel as if there’s a big crowd there. A 3pm kick-off is a bit pedestrian. People are just after their Sunday dinner, you’re just about to lie up for Coronation Street and then maybe you have to think about the match and you have to prepare yourself totally different. But we have a big incentive going up there. It’s only once a season we have to go there on a Sunday and we just have to get into our minds, go up there, do our work and get out with three points, and that’s the main thing.”