The Game

“Obviously we’re very disappointed. It was a poor second half performance, and the game was a little bit flat, even in the first half. News was maybe filtering through from Dalymount, which didn’t help the atmosphere in the ground. “We were 1-0 up at half-time, we should’ve been 3 or 4-0 up, there’s no doubt about that. We had more than enough chances to be well ahead, we didn’t take them, and we were punished. They’d one shot on goal and it’s cost us. I’m dissapointed for the players, because they deserved the opportunity to take it to the last game. And I’m disappointed for the supporters because they deserved the excitement of that as well. “I’m not disappointed for myself because I’m pleased with the progress the club has made. But ultimately, tonight in the second half we let ourselves down and we didn’t do enough. “It’s a disappointing night for everyone and it’ll take a while to get over this, but we’ll be ready to go and make sure we do ourselves justice in the last game.”

The 2009 Season

“There’s been a lot of positives. Disappointed, obviously, in going out of both cups in the quarter-finals. We could’ve done better on both occasions. I think that showed us that maybe the strength of our squad isn’t there yet, when we change the team. “I’m delighted with how we’ve been away from home in the league. We’ve been the best team in the league in terms of our away form. And at times we’ve let ourselves down at home, but all in all, the crowds, the supporters, the Tallaght thing has been a huge positive. It gives us a platform to build on.

“I think that we’re an attractive proposition for good players to come to, whether that’s from within this league or outside of this league. The thought of coming here and playing in front of 6,000 crowds, European football next season, it should make it interesting in the off-season for us.

We haven’t won the league because, over the 35, 36 games as it will be, we’ve just come up slightly short. “Bohemians deserved to win the league and we congratulate them on that. I think it’s been good that we’ve been able to push them as hard as we could, and they didn’t win it at a canter like they did last year. But the reality is that we have to be stronger for next year.”

Next Season

“I came here to build a club, build a team, and we’re doing that. Everything’s in place here to take the club forward, and take it forward at the right pace, take it forward without jeopardising the future of the club, and that’s what I’ll continue to do. Hopefully we can manage to win things as well.

“It’s not for me to comment, to be honest, how other clubs do their business, but they’re obviously not doing it right. But we’re only concerned with what’s going on here. “We’re concerned about putting a team on the pitch, within the budget that we have available, that can put 6,000 people in the ground, and we’ve managed to do that. “We aim to put a superior team on the pitch next year, within the budget, and if that’s good enough to win the league – great. And if someone out there is better than us, we’ll hold our hands up. But clubs have to look at how they go about their own business.”