Same again for Cork

Cork City assistant manager Dave Hill has vowed to maintain the same approach which has served the team well as they head into their UEFA Cup tie with Slavia Prague.

With manager Damien Richardson ill, Hill will be in charge for tomorrow’s game in the Czech Republic in what is a milestone for football in Ireland after Cork became the first Irish team to reach the first round proper of the UEFA Cup.

A 0-0 draw with Djurgarden IF saw Cork progress courtesy of the away goals rule following a 1-1 draw in Gothenburg.

Hill told PA Sport: “We will approach it exactly the same as our previous two games in Europe.

“We will go out and play our own game. We have scored both times away from home so hopefully we can do that again and get an away goal but we don’t want to concede.”

Tomorrow’s first leg sees the Eircom League leaders play in the Evzena Rosickeho Strahov Stadium before returning home for the second leg at Turner’s Cross two weeks on September 29.

Slavia have had a mixed start to the season, winning only one and losing two of their first five games but Hill refuses to read anything into their form.

“It is very early in their season,” he said. “But we cannot afford to be too complacent.”

Instead Hill insists he is looking forward to the game – even if he will be without manager Richardson who is having treatment to a clot on the lung.

Hill was in charge for Cork’s previous game – a 3-0 win over Bray Wanderers - and he will be joined by goalkeeping coach Phil Harrington.

Hill said: “Damien is the manager and he will pick the side but during the game myself and Phil Harrington will be making the decisions.”

While admitting Richardson’s absence is a blow, the former defender insists the players have to apply themselves to the job in hand.

He told the Irish Examiner: “Obviously Damien is a big loss but the players are all full-time professionals. They know, and Damien knows, the way they will take this is ‘we’ve got to get on with the job’.

“Yes, his influence is a big loss but the players must turn that negative into a positive and get Damien the result that means the tie is still there for him in two weeks’ time when, hopefully, he is back.”

The 39-year-old’s own playing experience of European football came with Cork and Bohemians with highlights including knocking Aberdeen out of the UEFA Cup with the latter.

However, this is his proudest moment so far and he insists Cork are not content to sit on their laurels but have their sights set even higher.

“We want to go on and achieve even better things,” he said.

“We have got to get a winning mentality. We only went out to Nantes last year (in the Intertoto Cup) which is very respectable.

“It (the Eircom League) is a good standard but it is fair we have got the underdog tag here as Slavia Prague have a very good tradition.”

Alan Bennett (hamstring) is Cork’s biggest injury concern but he has flown to Prague and will be monitored in training, while Dan Murray and Neale Horgan should have recovered from the dead legs they received in the game with Bray.