Stephen Bradley gave shamrockrovers.ie this squad update in advance of playing Shelbourne in the Premier Division on Friday at Tallaght Stadium.
Q. Were you disappointed not to leave Richmond Park with all three points on Sunday?
“We were really disappointed. When you look at the game we were excellent and we dominated the game so we were disappointed not to come away with the three points.”
Q. We started quite well in the game especially the first 15 minutes when we had a couple of good chances for Greene and Burke didn’t we?
“I don’t think there was a period when we weren’t good, I thought we controlled the game and created chances throughout. There were a lot of crosses into the box and a lot of blocked shots and one or two in the box just didn’t fall for us. So we were really happy with how we played.”
Q. When St Pat’s were reduced to ten men early in the second half how do you think the game developed from then?
”I think it was a similar pattern to how the game was other than just that they sat in their box. It took them another five or ten yards deeper than what they were already. I think for the last half hour they played with no front man.
Q. Towards the end of the game we were putting a lot of balls into the box and we had a good few corners but were you disappointed that their keeper wasn’t tested more often?
“No, I think it’s very easy to look into that detail of it and it can mask a lot of things. The keeper didn’t make a lot of really good saves but there were so many last ditch blocks in their box that prevents the keeper from having to make those saves. We had shots on target where deflections just took them wide so I don’t think that tells a true story.”
Q. Defensively you must have been pleased that Pat’s were restricted to very little in the 90 minutes?
“They had nothing in the game except for one break at the end and it came off us being a little sloppy in possession rather than them creating anything. So defensively I thought we were really good.”
Q. What do you expect from Shelbourne on Friday?
”It’ll be a tough game. I’ve watched a lot of games and they’ll obviously be organised and come with a game plan to win it. We’ve got to be ready for that and respect what they’re going to bring. We have to make sure we impose our game plan on them.”
Q. It’s another Dublin rivalry, is it good to have Shelbourne back in the league?
”It’s great, it’s another Dublin derby and another big game so it’s great to have them back in the league.”
Q. We’re back in Tallaght after a couple of road trips, are you and the players getting used to there being no fans in the ground now?
”Yeah I think we are at this stage. It’s obviously not the same without the fans and that energy that they bring but every week that passes we’re getting more used to it and we’re adapting every week.”
Q. Were there any injuries coming out of Sunday?
”No everyone is OK so we’re happy with that.”The match is available worldwide on WATCHLOI and will also be broadcast live on RTÉ2. Kick off is at 7.45pm.
