During a lean spell for Bohemians in the league they drew 0-0 in the Showgrounds in June, making up at least in part for the 3-0 defeat at home to the same opponents in March.

“Sligo are still the champions and they will be coming here with the bit between their teeth. They know they have to win to maintain their challenge,” said Heary.

“If the lads give as good an account of themselves as they did in the last two matches I can see us coming away with something.

“It’s another tough game for us, and then we have another even bigger one in two weeks’ time against Shelbourne.”

Approaching the end of his permitted tenure as caretaker manager, Heary has guided Bohemians to two wins and two draws in six league games.

“I’m happy with the way things have gone. Before I took over we had gone 11 league games without a win,” he said. “To get points against some of the teams we have got them against is very pleasing. But we’re not out of the woods yet. We’ve got to keep working hard at what we’re doing.”

Heary admits his players struggled to get to terms with the St Patrick’s midfield in the first half of last weekend’s match. Daniel Byrne who had impressed on his full debut in the previous game was missing the guidance of suspended Dave Mulcahy, Heary felt.

“We decided we had to try and match them [St Patrick’s] man-for-man and stop them getting forward. We talked to [Keith] Buckley and [Stephen] Traynor at half-time and they did the business. They’re not much older than the lads they replaced but they have been playing in the league for four years,” said Heary.

“Not many teams have gone over there and got a point off them and we’ve done it twice this year. Pat’s could have been out of sight in the first half but in the second half we got to grips with them and we deserved the point.”

With those contributions Buckley and Traynor put themselves in the reckoning for the starting line-up. Also in midfield, Dave Mulcahy is available, back from suspension. David Scully (ankle injury) remains out.

Heary has strengthened his defensive resources with the signing on professional terms of tall centre-half Neil Yadolahi (20), a youth Irish international who was on the books of Burnley for over two years until last year. More recently, he had a short spell with Turkish side Bucaspor and a trial with Swansea City. He has been training with Bohemians for the past month.

“Pat’s is a massive test. They’re top of the table, unbeaten at home for a while. Nobody’s giving us a chance, and that’s the way it has been for the last few games.

“But all the pressure is on them. They’ve been there before, and they may be starting to get a bit edgy. There’s nothing to say we can’t go there and get a result.”

The Bohemian manager underlined the whole team’s defensive effort that kept Rovers down to very few scoring opportunities. “If we stick to the game plan, hopefully we can restrict Pat’s to minimum chances,” said Heary.

Against the same opposition four months ago, Bohemians had to survive continuous pressure to come away with a draw. Dave Mulcahy scored the second-half equaliser in one of his trademark barn-storming performances.

He was also man-of-the-match against Shamrock Rovers but he will be missing on Friday through suspension.

“Not having Dave is a big blow. The way he started against Rovers set the tone for the whole match. But we have other players who can fill in,” said Heary.

He was very impressed with Daniel Byrne’s debut start alongside Mulcahy in the last league match, and the young midfielder will be in the reckoning again.

“At 20, there’s a lot of development in him. But he has clearly shown he has potential,” said Heary. “I had seen him in under-19 games and I know what he can do. We threw him in at the deep end, which may have helped him, as he didn’t have too long to think about it.”

Ryan McEvoy’s illness required Byrne’s late selection two weeks ago but McEvoy and Ciaran Nangle (previously out with ankle injury) return for Friday and Karl Moore is back from suspension. However, Dave Scully (ankle injury) and Stephen Doran (away) miss out.

Heary felt keenly his players’ disappointment but observed that the depth of disappointment reflected their exceptional work-rate.

“The Rovers game is a good one to come at this point because we need to bounce back quickly. The lads know what is expected of them. They believe in what we are doing, and they know they are going in the right direction.”

Heary is not inclined to move players around, and even less to select himself, in order to strengthen the defence further.

He also saluted the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Dean Delany against Cork and in bringing off a series of top-class saves in earlier games, even against UCD when Bohemians conceded three goals.

“He’s a senior player and he’s stepping up to the plate,” said Heary of the only player in his squad to play all 24 league games this season.

Daniel Byrne made his Bohemian début against Cork City as a substitute on 80 minutes, having recently signed from Kilbarrack United. Heary was delighted for Byrne to get on for the club he supports as a fan. He expects the 20-year-old defender/midfielder to be a “vital part” of his plans for the rest of the season, as all the players in his squad fight for places.

For Friday the Bohemian manager must plan without former Shamrock Rovers player Karl Moore (suspended) and Ciaran Nangle (ankle injury), but Keith Buckley returns from suspension and Andy Mulligan from hamstring injury, giving Heary crucial choices to make in midfield.

“Karl has been brilliant for us in the last few matches. He’s a natural winger and you don’t get many of them these days,” said Heary. “But Andy Mulligan has that too, Keith Buckley is back, and Kevin Devaney can be a threat to the Rovers defence on the right. So we have options.”

Shamrock Rovers will be missing several leading players through suspension but Heary is keenly aware of the strength-in-depth of the rivals’ squad.

“We’ll focus on what team we think they will put out,” he said. “In these derbies, form goes out the window, as we have seen in the last few games against Rovers. It’ll be down to keeping our discipline and sticking to the game plan.

“This is massive for the club, massive for the fans and, particularly, it’s massive for the team.”

Forward Chris Lyons (bruised ribs) faces a late fitness test for Friday, though he trained this week. He has been joined in training by fellow-forward Eoin Rhodes, recently signed to Bohemians’ under-19 squad from Ross Celtic in Co. Wexford.

Rhodes featured in last month’s friendly against Glenavon and scored a hat-trick in an under-19s’ pre-season match against Baldoyle United. He is one of three recent under-19 recruits from Co. Wexford.

Bohemians will play a friendly in Ferns on Saturday in acknowledgement of the contributions to the club from that county.

“The training has been high-tempo because of the frustration. They know they are well capable of winning games, if they can eradicate those mistakes.”

Heary takes hope from his team’s performance. “We created chances, we got a lot of bodies forward, and UCD never threatened us in open play.

“We scored early on, we were in control of the game, and we had another chance soon afterwards. If we had got the goal later to go 2-all, I’m sure we would have gone on and won the game.”

The caretaker manager, also one of the league’s most experienced defenders, has been addressing the team’s problem of “not reacting to the second ball” when the first attempt on goal has been defended.

“It’s a mental thing, being determined that you’re not going to let the man you’re marking score,” he said. “That’s the difference between the teams at the top and teams at the bottom. The teams at the top are quicker to react and make sure the opposition don’t get on to the second ball.”

Last March in Turner’s Cross, Bohemians went ahead when Heary was first to a Ryan McEvoy corner at the near post. But Bohemians could not hold the lead, losing 2-1, and the scoreline was the same when the teams met in May in Dalymount Park.

Cork have lost four of the players who featured in those matches and, like Bohemians, changed manager following a run of poor results. Friday’s match will be Stuart Ashworth’s first league game in charge.

Heary knows Ashworth as a “good manager” through the under-19 league but he is hoping Friday’s opposition don’t get the new-manager bounce, that has been observed elsewhere in the league.

Midfielders Dave Mulcahy and Ryan McEvoy return from injury but Chris Lyons (bruised ribs), Andy Mulligan (hamstring), Stephen Doran (ankle) and Keith Buckley (suspended) are not available.

Heary is confident his players’ efforts will yield results. “The fans could see last week that the players are working hard and playing for the shirt. We have to play to win,” he said.

Heary is looking to the fans to help his side turn Dalymount performances into wins. He is looking for “that effort from everyone – myself, the players, the fans, the club as a whole” to improve Bohemians’ position.

“The fans were brilliant last week and you saw how the players celebrated the goal with them. You could sense that the lads were playing for the club,” said Heary.

“The players will make mistakes. But what matters is how you react to mistakes. If they get a positive reaction even when they make a mistake we can be all right.”

Last week’s draw against Drogheda United was encouraging, according to the manager. “We were without Derek Pender, Luke Byrne and Dave Mulcahy and Drogheda are a decent side, physically strong and well drilled. So, I was pleased to get the point out of it. It felt like a win at the end,” said Heary.

“We know from past games that, 1-0 down, we can drop our heads. The players showed great character. They bounced back, they didn’t give up and we scored a late goal, just as we scored late goals against Bray.”

When Bohemians and UCD met last in the league in May, Bohs were eight points ahead of the Students in the table, but went down 1-0 to an early goal in a feisty encounter that featured five yellow cards and a red.

The balance between the sides has changed as Heary takes his place in the dug-out for the first time since his appointment as caretaker manager. Graham O’Hanlon, coach of the under-19 team, will be at his side.

“Standing in the gantry you get to see every player and you have a better view than when you’re on the sideline. Against Drogheda I could see that we lost our shape once or twice,” said Heary. “Now I’m hoping that the lads will get positive encouragement from having me on the sideline.”

The manager was delighted at the crowd’s reaction to Anto Murphy’s return to the club but also at his former team-mate’s performance. “He went straight into defence, winning headers, winning tackles. He played some great balls and then he comes up trumps with the one throw that he had.”

Dave Mulcahy (ankle injury) faces a late fitness test for Friday. Ryan McEvoy has a recurrence of the ankle injury that kept him out for several games last month and he and Chris Lyons (bruised ribs) are likely to miss Friday’s game. But Shane Murray has trained all week following his ankle injury and is available.

Heary has brought in an additional defender/midfielder for the last round of the campaign. Daniel Byrne (20) has re-signed from Kilbarrack United, having previously been a member of Bohemians’ under-19 squad. Meanwhile, Zein Albehadlie, Conor O’Brien, Michael Scott and Santiago Miguel Falbo have been released from the senior squad.