Tickets for away fans are SOLD OUT. Tomorrow night’s match in Richmond Park kicks off at 7.45 pm – coverage is on LOITV.

It was an excellent Easter for Rovers starting with a 3-1 derby win over Bohemians on Friday, how important was it to follow that up by winning as we did in Waterford on Easter Monday?

“It was really important. We know how important the Friday/Monday games are, so it was really important to follow up a good result and performance on Friday with another one on Monday. Taking everything into account I thought we did that and got the three points also in Waterford.”

We’ve scored some really excellent goals in those two games. Just how impressive was Pico’s desire to get on the end of Conan’s cross for the winner in Waterford?

“It was an incredible header, to be honest. It was a really good ball from Conan but there was still so much to do. Pico showed incredible determination and drive to get on the end of it. Both goals were high quality; with Darragh Burns, it’s a really clever goal and it’s a fantastic ball from Markus Poom. When Markus passes the ball, it has to check when it bounces to give Darragh the chance to get there, so there’s real thought gone into that. Darragh’s run makes Markus’ mind up so two good goals.”

You gave Cian Dillon his league debut in Waterford, can you tell us more about Cian’s journey to the first-team group and his main attributes?

“As I said at the game, it’s always one of the highlights of being a manager to be able to give young players debuts and watching them play and grow. Cian has worked extremely hard since he’s been a young player. One of his standout attributes has been his attitude. When you see a kid with that attitude, work rate and honesty, it’s always a pleasure to be able to give them the reward of playing for the first team in front of our fans. Cian deserves it, it’s nothing he hasn’t earned. In an ideal world, it’s probably a little early for him, but he’s earned it. Now, we need to be patient with him and look after him. Hopefully, there are many more to come. He’s been at the club a long time, and played in all the teams all the way up, as I said what always stood out was that attitude, desire, and work rate. He played pre-season for us and did really well, when that happens it leaves an imprint on your mind, so when we had a few knocks, it was a no-brainer to get him into the group so I’m delighted for him.”

To this weekend’s clash with St Pat’s in Inchicore. It’s only a few months since we clinched the fourth title there and we beat them in February in the President’s Cup in Tallaght. They are, however, coming off an impressive 3-0 win over Sligo on Monday and are Cup holders, so like all games in this league, we’ll have to be at our best to take the three points.

“The league has shown already this year that if you’re not at your best, you won’t win games, regardless of who you play, home or away. We know a Dublin derby against Pat’s at their home is a difficult game. We also know if we go there with the right mindset and attitude, that we’re more than capable of winning the game. That’s the aim and Pat’s will be a difficult game.”

Lee Grace and Aaron Greene limped off in Waterford and you were hopeful Rory Gaffney and Jack Byrne might also make it for the Pat’s game, what is the latest with those four and are there any other absences this weekend apart from the longer-term ones?

“Lee is out but it’s not a bad one. We’re hoping to have him back for next week at home to Sligo. Lee is usually not too bad when he gets an injury. He slipped on the pitch in Waterford, the type of athletic and powerful player Lee is, he slipped and tried to run at the same time and the pitch was really soft underfoot. So, hopefully, it’s not too bad. Jack was back in with the specialist, we’re looking at maybe next week or the week after to be involved but it’s definitely going the right way. Aaron McEneff’s rehab is ramping up, so he’s not far away now. Aaron Greene is ok, it’s sore, it was a dead leg. Johnny Kenny needed a scan which was clear, but he still has a problem. We’ll assess it at training, we’re not sure what it is, his abdominal area swelled up after the Bohs game, but the scan hasn’t picked up anything. We’ll look at that today. Rory tried his knee today but it wasn’t too good, tomorrow will be too early but hopefully, he’ll be ok for next week.”