Don’t judge City players just yet, says boss Dunne

AS IT was for most of the nearly 4,500 fans present, Friday night at Turner’s Cross was an occasion to savour but a performance and result to forget for Cork City FORAS Co-op manager Tommy Dunne.

“It just showed that football in Cork is still alive and kicking and there is still a future for it but it’s going to take a bit of time, a number of weeks and months, to get things right,” said the new boss, after seeing his side lose 0-2 to Waterford United. “Seeing a crowd like that is encouraging for everybody. But there’s a lot of work to be done. And we shouldn’t be judged on one night, we should be judged over the whole season.”

After the high of that opening day point away to Derry – when, Dunne notes, being away from home meant Cork could afford to get plenty of bodies behind the ball – the manager admits that he was concerned about how the heady mood of expectation surrounding Friday’s homecoming would impact on his predominantly young team.