Dundalk FC :: News

20 MAY 2008: “I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the game. I would be really disappointed if we weren’t playing well and we weren’t creating chances, but we’re not just getting the luck of the draw at the moment.” - Gill

Ante-post title favourites Dundalk fell two points behind Shelbourne at the top of the First Division table on Tuesday night, following a disappointing scoreless draw at home to Longford Town. However, afterwards, manager John Gill was refusing to panic, despite seeing his side stretch their winless run to three matches, and insists that a continuation of the team’s work-rate will soon bring a change of fortune. The game saw Gill forced to tinker with his starting XI for the 40th game in succession, and in his post-match analysis, the boss revealed more damaging injury news, as influential defender John Flanagan is struggling with a recurring ankle problem.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the game,” Gill told dundalkfc.com. “I would be really disappointed if we weren’t playing well and we weren’t creating chances, but we’re not just getting the luck of the draw at the moment. We hit the post, Jamie Duffy had a good chance, and (Neil) Gallagher pulled off a tremendous save from Cassidy. I know they had a couple of chances as well, but I thought we forced the game. Football is a toss of a coin sometimes, and, at the moment, confidence is maybe a little bit low. But we’re trying to do the right things in the right areas. I know the crowd are getting frustrated, and I’m getting frustrated, but if all things went swimmingly all of the time, life would be very boring.

“All I can tell you is that the players are working really, really hard. They’re dejected down there - it feels like a defeat to them. But we’ll work harder. We’re back in Thursday, we’ll dust ourselves down, we’ll do a bit of work, and we’ll prepare properly for Friday. I just feel we need a goal to turn our fortunes and to give us a bit of confidence, because, in patches, we’re playing very good football. I’ve been down here before, where we haven’t played well and haven’t created chances. In certain games last year - Limerick, Kildare - we were abysmal, but I can’t say that we’ve been abysmal in the last two games. I think that we’ve created chances; we just haven’t taken them.

“We haven’t been able to put a consistent side out, week-in, week-out. That will be the same next Friday, as John Flanagan is struggling big time with his ankle. But all we can do is just keep working hard, and I’m a firm believer that if you keep working hard, your luck will eventually turn. The chance that Cassidy had, you would put money on him; he did everything right, but Gally pulled off a fantastic save. In the overall context of the game, I thought we deserved to win, but that’s my opinion. But if we weren’t playing well and we weren’t creating chances, then I’d be worried, but we are creating chances.

“There was no autopsy down there. The dressing-room was like a morgue. We’ll speak about it on Thursday, because I don’t believe in having shouting matches after games. You can say the wrong thing at the wrong time when emotions are high. I told the players to go away, have a think about the game, and we’ll come together Thursday before training and we’ll have a brief, ten minute meeting before it. And I still feel that we can go down to Wexford on Friday and get a win.

“I’m confident of going down there and getting a win. I went to watch them last night against Kildare. Football can be a funny game; it can be the toss of a coin. The crossbar against Monaghan on Friday, and the post here tonight - if those two went in, I think we would have won both games, and we would be all here giving each other high-fives and saying how good it’s going. Football doesn’t work like that. Sometimes, you need a little bit of everything. All we can do is keep working hard and, hopefully, get a break.”

In relation to the upcoming transfer window in July, Gill admitted that he would like to acquire some new additions. However, he has yet to meet with the Board to discuss if funds will be made available for new players. “We’ll sit back and we’ll take stock,” he said. “We’ll sit down with Gerry (Matthews), as we did last year, at the break. The window doesn’t open until July anyway. I’ll sit down with Gerry and the Board in June, and we’ll decide then on what we want to do. If it’s financially viable, I’m sure that the Board will back me, as they always have, in fairness to them.

“But it’s all about getting the right players in. I made mistakes last year in the window, where I brought in players and it didn’t work out, and that was down to me. The Board gave me their full backing, and I made mistakes. So, a) they would have to be the right players, b) it would have to be financially viable for the club to do it, and c) the players I bring in would have to be better than the players I have already. If those players are there, yes, I would love to get them, but it’s finding those right players.

“I still have great belief in the bunch of players that we have here - I really do. At the end of the day, we’ve played 12 games - we’ve won 7, drawn 4 and lost 1. If that’s not good enough for people, then there’s not much more I can do. All I can tell you is that we’re working extremely hard, and I have full belief in them. You can’t win every game - you have to strive to do it, and that’s what we’re doing. The last three results have been very, very disappointing, but I’ve been in tighter fixes than this, and I’ve always worked extremely hard to get out of them, and that’s what I intend to do. We’ve got to knuckle down, work hard and believe in each other, get to the break, and then assess things when we get there.”

On the injury front, it now appears likely that John Flanagan will be sidelined once more with a recurring ankle injury. However, Gill feels that there is enough cover to slot in in the defender’s absence. “It looks like déjà vu again,” Gill admitted. “It was a toss of a coin whether he played tonight, but John is such a big player for us. I feel very sorry for him. He’s going through a lot of pain. We’ve had him scanned, and something did show up on the scan. The medical team are going to discuss the scan with a surgeon tomorrow, and see if they can come up with a diagnosis.

“But, first and foremost, I just hope that John is okay, and that he doesn’t need another operation. And that he’s healthy, because there is more to life than football. John is a young man with a young family, and you’ve got to think of that as well. I made John bite the bullet probably more than I should have last year. He was a warrior, and he is a warrior. A lot of people wouldn’t have played tonight, but John did. Hopefully, John will get better, but we have other people that can fill in, and other people are going to have to step up to the plate. There’s other players being paid by the football club who are going to have to give something back now.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Paul Shiels will miss Friday's trip to Wexford through suspension.