Over 7,000 tickets sold for Mondays top of the table Derby. Tickets remain available on shamrockrovers.ie
There will be a presentation from the club to Rory Gaffney pre match when he will say his goodbyes to the fans.
We returned to the top of the league on Friday with a 3-1 win over Drogheda. Was it a strong performance all round?
“I think so, considering the layoff we had and playing against a difficult team in Drogheda. I thought we were excellent in patches, especially first half. The rhythm went a bit in the second half but it was a different type of performance second half. Overall, I was really pleased.”
You were a little concerned beforehand as to how the three week break would be reflected in our sharpness. Did that evaporate after Graham Burke’s first minute goal in a first half of real tempo and momentum?
“We have experience in dealing with these breaks. We’ve done it with Europe, ending our domestic season but coming back for European games so we had the experience of that kind of break. I knew we’d handle it well, but you just don’t really know the effect it will have on the players until they get back on the pitch. You can think you’ve ticked every box until you’re on the pitch but I thought the players were excellent on Thursday, their attitude to the game and tempo and energy they showed was brilliant.”
John McGovern scored two goals for the second game in a row. Is he really showing why you were so keen go get him and it’s just a shame he’s had an injury-interrupted season.
“First of all it shows why we wanted John and, secondly, what we missed during the Summer period. It was always going to be a longer process with John, because of the way he’s built and the team he was playing in when we got John. But what he had is what we knew would help us once we got him there. To be fair to John, he’s been patient and worked extremely hard and learned. It’s been great to have John back for this vital point in the season.”
The game tomorrow night against Bohemians couldn’t be bigger in every facet. The players however will just need to focus on the job in hand.
“The players will do what they’ve always done. What’s great about the group is we have real experience built up in understanding what it takes to go the long haul in a season. We’ve done it for so long. What comes with that is real trust and belief and understanding. Trust the process in what we do. We know tomorrow is a tough game but they all are between now and the end of the season but one we’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”
It’s our second last home game of the season. The fans have always answered your rallying call ahead of big European nights. They need to bring the noise and encouragement tomorrow night for a big push.
“Yes they do, we need the fans tomorrow and that energy and noise. I’m sure they’ll bring it, these last two home league games, we really need their support as much as possible to help us kick on again to another level.”
How did the players emerge from Thursday. Any update on Danny Grant?
“All good from Thursday, no issues., Danny trained all week and is available. We’ll just have to see if tomorrow night is the right one for him, but he’s back which is good.”
