Tickets are still available for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash. Buy here. The game will be shown live on Virgin Media and BT Sport


What was the dressing room like after such a dramatic and important win over Shelbourne on Sunday?

It was in good spirits with a really good atmosphere. The players put everything into it particularly the second half on a difficult day with the conditions. The players kept going and got their rewards.

Rovers twice fell behind in the first half, with Dan Cleary pulling one back. Was everyone frustrated with Farrell’s two goals, albeit his second is a great strike?

Certainly – both goals were good finishes but from our point of view, they were very poor goals to give away. Shelbourne hadn’t had anything in the game, the goals were very disappointing and something that we have to take a look at. 

You changed your two centre-backs at the break and Pico in particular has received a lot of his praise for his commitment and the impact he made. What was the second-half game plan?

We needed to go back to ourselves. Our spacing in the first half was far too big and as a result, we became sloppy and open. The second half was a lot more like us, we were compact in and out of possession, and this caused them a lot of problems.

Dan scored again to level things up at 2-2 and we really pushed for the late, late winner. How good was Rory’s audacious volley to win it?

Dan did brilliantly. Rory’s finish was fantastic. To have that calmness in the 94th minute for such an important strike is typical of Rory. He’s really good with his left and right foot.

It was such a memorable moment. Did the chaotic celebrations on the pitch, in the dugout and in the stands say it all in terms of how much that goal meant to everyone?

We know that it was an important goal, especially being 2-1 with ten minutes left. Once we got the second the momentum was with us and you could see that we were pushing Shelbourne. The emotions all around were fantastic to see. 

With home advantage on Thursday, do you see our rematch with Molde being a different type of game to last week the way both teams could approach it?

We know that Molde are a very good side. We knew that before a ball was kicked last week, and we have to respect their qualities. We also have to go and perform and impose ourselves on them where possible. There will be times when we will have to go without the ball, but when we have it and we are in the game, we have to go and hurt them. 

What did you see from that game in Norway in terms of any weaknesses to exploit and hopefully create good chances against them in Tallaght?

There are definitely areas where we can cause them problems. We were not at it last week and we couldn’t hurt them. Hopefully we can get to our levels and cause Molde some problems.

Did any new injuries come out of Sunday?

Andy picked up a knock and we will have to assess him. Aidomo is doing well after his knock but won’t be back for this one. Simon and Chris are still a few days away.

You’ve spoken about rotating the squad with the league run-in in mind but whichever team goes out, you’ll trust to hopefully put on another good home European performance to try and keep the record going?

I trust every player in the squad. I believe that every player has similar qualities and they all know what we do, what we demand and how we play. Whoever plays will be more than ready for the game and the occasion.