Cork City out to start playoff preparations on right foot with visit of champions

Shamrock Rovers wrapped up their fourth title on the trot at the weekend.

Mon, 30 Oct, 2023 - 07:13

John Fallon

Today’s result won’t change the contrasting finishing positions for Cork City and Shamrock Rovers but the visit of the champions marks the start of the Rebel Army’s playoff preparations.

Sligo Rovers claimed the point they needed to avoid being caught by City over the last two games, meaning the ninth-placed team must conquer either Waterford or Cobh Ramblers at Richmond Park on Friday week, November 10, to preserve their Premier status.

Rovers have only lost once since being beaten on Leeside back in May and the pressure is off in this penultimate fixture when they return to Turner’s Cross (4.45pm, Live RTÉ 2).

For City, their season will be defined by a shootout against the team that emerges from the congested First Division pack. They’ll know which Munster rival they’ll meet after Saturday’s clash of the Blues and Cobh.

Caretaker boss Richie Holland was pleased with aspects of their third straight home defeat on Friday, the 1-0 reverse to Derry City, but has implored his players to ‘perform in chaos’. Deficiencies in both boxes are hurting them.

“The playoff is massive because being a massive club doesn’t guarantee you being in the Premier Division,” he noted.

Coming from a different perspective is Stephen Bradley. He’s achieved what no other has done before by guiding a team to four titles in a row.

Boardroom tensions have caught him in the crossfire, leading to doubts over his continuity in the post, but the 38-year-old is talking in the context of a unified effort to strive for five.

“We have a seat at the top table but we want our own table,” declared the former Arsenal trainee, whose son Josh has been receiving treatment for leukemia since last year. “We want to go and be the best team that has ever played in this country.

“This year has been extremely difficult for a number of reasons. The players and staff have given me everything when the expectation was to complete the four-in-a-row.”

The Hoops recovered from a sluggish start to leave rivals Derry City, St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians trailing in their wake when the title race intensified.

“We were nine points behind the leaders at one stage and we could finish ten ahead, so that’s a really incredible achievement,” he added.

“I had a feeling all year and spoke to the players about this early on when we were getting the draws.

“I felt there was a pressure cooker and people were talking four, four, four - as if it was a special number and I understand the relevance of it.

“But as if it was a magic number and we get that and then off we go and we give it to someone else, in terms of another team.

“I told the players that 'four is just a number'. It’s not a case of winning four and saying: ‘thank you’. Everything is geared towards the next challenge.”

On today’s game, rescheduled from last Monday due to the inclement weather, Bradley said: “We celebrated winning the league on Friday at St Pat’s because it’s important to enjoy success but they show up every day and it will be no different in Cork.

"We’ll do what we always do, try and win the game, that doesn’t change. Then we’ll have the Sligo game at home next Friday, when we’ll get the trophy.”