“We’re under no illusions Bohs will be one of the stronger teams in the league” – O’Donnell
By Daire Walsh
DESPITE seeing his side losing two games on the bounce in the past fortnight, St Patrick’s Athletic head coach Stephen O’Donnell is not concerned about form.
Following back-to-back Premier Division reversals at the hands of champions Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United, the Saints will be banking on a return to winning ways against Bohemians at Richmond Park tomorrow evening (kick-off 5.45pm).
Recent results may have seen them falling six points behind Rovers at the summit of the table, but O’Donnell insists there hasn’t been a drop-off in performance levels.
“People can get caught up on the results, two defeats on the spin, but ultimately we were by far the better team in the second half against Shamrock Rovers.
“I watched back the game against Drogheda, 2-0 down, we had all the possession but probably not enough territory,” O’Donnell explained at a St Pat’s media event on Tuesday.
“We were just disappointed we didn’t ask them enough questions with the possession we had. The second half was a decent performance and if we’d got the goal a bit earlier I’d have fancied us to go on.
“Break it down individually rather than saying it was two defeats in-a-row and there’s not a lot wrong.”
After enduring a difficult start to the season, Bohs (with whom O’Donnell won the double as a player in 2008) are beginning to find their feet.
The Gypsies finished second in last season’s top-flight and will be searching for a third consecutive league win for the term in Inchicore.
“They have a big squad, a very big squad. Over the course of time it might help in the busy schedule if you have a big squad to call upon,” said O’Donnell.
“You have different options and you might not be as impacted injury-wise. They are a talented squad and over the course of time we’d expect them to pick up results.
“They have done that, they have good players and that’s the main reason why they have picked up. Early doors it was a false position they were in so we’re under no illusions that Bohs will be one of the stronger teams in the league over the course of the campaign.”
In ordinary times, Richmond Park would be packed to the brim for the visit of their cross-city rivals. While he and everyone else at Pat’s can’t wait for the day crowds are allowed to return, O’Donnell stressed it has done little to dilute the competitiveness of these fixtures.
“It might seem a little different, but the pace of the game in most of the matches is still the same. It’s probably just that you don’t get a big reaction off a goal or a tackle that you do with a full house,” O’Donnell added.
“The actual down on the ground, on the sideline, there has been a right tempo. Dalymount was no different when we played Bohs earlier in the season and Friday will be no different again,” he stressed.