Selection conundrum a 'pleasure' for Doherty as Drogs 'dying' for shot at the Hoops
Drogheda United aim to close the gap on Dundalk once more when they travel to Tallaght to face Stephen Bradley's side in a rare Sunday night outing.
Drogheda United manager Kevin Doherty has no fresh injury concerns ahead of tonight’s clash with champions Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium and the Drogs boss believes there are no negatives to working with a squad which has swelled to 22 available senior players.
While Zishim Bawa is a long term absentee, the return of Aaron McNally to full training this week means Doherty is currently working with as large a selection of senior players as he ever has during his seven years at United Park as both assistant to Tim Clancy and manager in his own right.
McNally is not expected to be involved tonight but is likely to feature in some capacity in the FAI Cup third round fixture against Wilton United of Cork on Friday night.
With a full squad available, some senior players will fail to make United’s 20-man squad - and that is before you take into consideration fringe players who are regulars for the Under 20s side, such as James Byrne, Sam Case, Manny Milongo, Harry O’Connor and Cameron Feehan.
“That’s the way it should be,” Doherty told Love Is The Drog when asked whether having such a large squad was more a positive than a negative.
“I think some people might see it as a con because I have to make decisions. I have no problem making decisions. The good thing - and it’s been a strong point of ours for a few years - all I’ve ever wanted is for those 22 lads, and the young lads as well, to want us to do well. If senior lads aren’t in the squad, it doesn’t matter, it’s all for the benefit of the team.
“The pros for me are having players who that influence games. Some players are better coming on. We have a a couple of players you think that make such an impact coming off the bench that that’s the best thing for a game, y’know.
He continued: “It’s not just us. It happens throughout football. That’s the big thing for me. It’s having players that if we want to change it, if we want to chase a game, if we’re struggling, if we have injuries, if we have sendings off which we will have, we can change things.”
Doherty and his assistant Daire Doyle took training on Saturday morning before travelling to Cork to see Friday’s opponents Wilton lose on penalties to Avondale United in the MSL Keane Cup. The Drogs’ boss doesn’t believe in such a thing as selection headaches.
“I have played so many young lads over the years, it’s not that I won’t play young lads. It’s brilliant to have the likes of Deega back, Aaron McNally nearly back. I wouldn’t call them headaches, people say they are selection headaches, it’s not. It’s a pleasure to have it. I want the best XI and best 20 that we can possibly have. Whether it’s experienced lads or young lads, to me it doesn’t matter. It’s horses for courses and whatever game we have, whatever plan we have, we’ll go with the best one.”
If making personnel decisions is a pleasure for Doherty, imagine how Stephen Bradley must feel. His Shamrock Rovers side faced NK Celje on Thursday last with Lee Grace, Sean Kavanagh, Aaron McEneff, Richard Towell, Markus Poom, Darragh Burns, Jack Byrne and Graham Burke among those kept in reserve.
At least some of those are sure to start this evening as United come to face the Hoops on the back of three straight defeats to Rovers. New signing Marc McNulty - ex of Sheffield United, Coventry, Sunderland and Hibernians - is in line to feature.
“He’s a new signing that you would imagine with the Johnny Kenny injury and with Gaffney still out might get some time,” Doherty says. “We’ll be well prepared. We haven’t any personal experience playing against him but genuinely the first thing I did when I saw the signing I got onto Derek our analyst and within five minutes he had all his clips up for me. We’re not scrambling but of course you have to find out exactly what type of player he is. From the footage, we know what to expect.”
In the last month, Drogheda have beaten Dundalk in the FAI Cup and Waterford in the league. Coupled with draws against league leaders Shelbourne and Bohemians, the mood is positive at the club with the league defeat at Oriel Park considered an aberration amidst a run of improved performances on the whole.
“Everyone’s raring to go. Everybody wants to play on Sunday",” Doherty says, although Rovers will be buoyed by Shels’ defeat at The Showgrounds on Saturday. “It’s brilliant. The mood around the place has been really good for the guts of a month now. The mood was never down. But it’s momentum. I was very strong on that before the cup game against Dundalk, I felt it wasn’t just a cup game. It was a chance to go and win a game, particularly against a team who had just beaten us the week before, and kick on.
“You can feel the atmosphere around the place, it’s sold out, supporters are flying, everyone’s in good form. It’s good to keep that momentum going. I certainly wouldn’t want to be pulling anyone back. I want everyone to be dying for Sunday. I can’t wait for Sunday.
“We know it’s going to be a really tough game, you go out to Tallaght and it’s a great opportunity to play a game of football against a really good team in really good surroundings and test ourselves. We haven’t got close to them this year as we have in previous years and it’s a chance to do that, but more importantly, it’s a chance for us to pick up points as well. We know the way we’re playing in the last while…the new additions in the squad have given us a freshness as well. It’s plain for anyone to see, the energy that’s within the group as well.
Doherty added: “I wouldn’t be holding anyone back. I want everyone to be dying come Sunday morning. I want everyone dying to go. In our place, there wasn’t loads in it. It wasn’t a brilliant performance by us by any means. We know what way they’ll play. You’d imagine there’ll be a fair few changes. It’s no secret they’re a really, really good side. They’ll want to do well in Europe but they’ll want to keep themselves in that title race. They’ll be very, very strong on Sunday.”