Alan Reynolds believes the double boost his Bohemians squad received this past week can drive them towards finishing the season on a high.

Bohs’ impressive 2-0 win away to Sligo Rovers last week ended fears that they could be dragged down into the relegation play-off spot.

While Bohs’ season fell far short of expectations, there was nonetheless a sense of relief among the players and travelling support that the club’s Premier Division status next season was put beyond doubt.

Bohs went into the game frustrated that their positive first-half performance the week previously counted for nothing as a saved penalty, sending-off and a wicked deflection for St Pat’s opener all contributed to a bruising 3-1 defeat.

They put that out of their heads heading west, however, and delivered the result that their performance deserved.

Reynolds said: “We all know our supporters are hurting this season, and in reality can’t wait for it to be over to draw a line under it.

“But despite that, the support we got in Sligo, as we have got on the road all season, didn’t go unnoticed. It was the same up in Derry a few weeks ago despite being knocked out of the cup by them a week previously.

“We had two or three hundred in the Showgrounds and they got right behind us from the get-go. I know it’s not easy for supporters after the season we have had to put that out of their heads and give the lads encouragement, but that’s what they did and it really helped.

“The chips were down and heads were low, we all know that. But everyone who went to Sligo, on and off the pitch, knew we all needed to pull in the same direction to get ourselves over the line and get the win we needed to put to bed any risk of us getting sucked into the play-off, and collectively we got the job done.

“It’s not where any of us or our fans want us to be, and I know people are probably tired of hearing that, but we went down there with our fans right behind us regardless. It meant a lot to the players, and there’s no denying there was a collective sense of relief at the end.

“None of us are celebrating where we are, but we obviously enjoyed the win and fed off the supporters at the end.

“I think it was a reminder to our players of what can be achieved, and replicating the energy we saw at the end of the game has to be something that motivates us in our last two games as we look to finish the year strongly and build towards next season.”

Avoiding the play-off spot was the first boost, the second came with the return of captain Keith Buckley, Rob Cornwall and James McManus to the training pitch this week.

The trio will sit the final two games out once more alongside Leigh Kavanagh, Ross Tierney and James Akintunde.

But Reynolds said: “To have the likes of Bucko, Rob and James back training with the squad gave the whole group another big lift.

“Any squad that loses players and personalities of their calibre for a whole season will suffer, and we certainly suffered in their absence this season. They’re not just good players, they are leaders and big personalities who influence players around them.

“Rehabilitation from serious injuries can be a long and lonely period for players so for them to get back in and among the lads this week was a massive positive for them and for all of the lads.

“They have worked so hard all year trying to get back to fitness and I can’t praise their commitment highly enough. They will be knuckling down hard over the closed season to hit the ground running next season too, and I have no doubt that they will have a huge impact for us when we finally have them back in the team.

“As well as those three big long-term injuries, again we have a lot of players out at the moment.

“But at this stage of the season we have to look as that as a positive opportunity for our younger players, so some of our U19s, Rhys Brennan, Seán Moore and Markuss Strods alongside Nickson Okosun, are in contention to feature in our squads for the final two games.

“They are really good quality prospects, so now is a good opportunity for them to be in and around first team training and to see what they are capable of transitioning to senior football.”

Team news

Bohemians are without Rob Cornwall, Leigh Kavanagh, Ross Tierney, Keith Buckley, James McManus and James Akintunde.