Preview: Dundalk v Bohemians
October 28, 2022
Declan Devine wants to send Bohemians fans home from Oriel Park tonight with smiles on their faces.
While the new manager is using the remaining games of 2022 to assess his squad ahead of a closed season rebuild, he also wants Bohs to get back to winning ways.
His managerial reign kicked off with a 2-2 draw against Finn Harps at Dalymount Park last week but he wants to go one better tonight against Dundalk.
Tickets for tonight’s game remain on sale and can be purchased here.
Devine said: “I want to see who has the characteristics for when we rebuild but we cannot look down our noses at two games when our supporters are there to see us perform.
“We want to provide the platform for our fans to have a good weekend!
“We haven’t been able to beat Dundalk this season, which is not good enough. We have got to be challenging the top teams.
“Oriel Park can be a notoriously difficult place to go but over the years Bohemians have had a good record there, and we want to get that back.
“Things haven’t gone as well this year as previous years but there are still two games to play for and from my point of view when you represent this club, you have got to give everything to get results.
“That will be no different in Oriel Park. Dundalk are in good form chasing that European place. But we want to see from our players whether they have the characteristics I need for them to be here next season.
“I’m looking forward to the game. I will expect a reaction after what was a relatively poor performance last week but one that was full of determination, full of effort and full of people working hard for one another.
“We need to step up from what we have dished up the last couple of weeks. We need to work harder than the opposition. When you go away from home, you have got to make sure you stay in the game.
“Over the last two games, we have made basic mistakes that have really cost us, so we have to nullify those mistakes.
“But we have also got to be brave and enjoy our football. We want to go and perform well.
“We have to make, first and foremost, ourselves hard to beat, which hasn’t been the case.
“But it is a new day. I want players to show leadership and moral courage in terms of getting on the ball in a difficult venue and trying to play.”
Devine knows he has a big job over the coming months to assemble a squad for 2023 capable of competing with the teams ahead of them this year. Every current player is on trial for the final two games of the season.
He said: “We have got good footballers – there are good players in the team lacking confidence. But it’s a new dawn for the team so they need to put the past behind them and go and show that the club means something to them.
“Pressure is to be embraced. Players have got to enjoy the fact that they are at the top level of Irish football. The pressure that comes with that is a privilege.
“When things have not been going well, it tells you a lot about character and who is going to roll their sleeves up.
“We have some very talented young players too who, over the next two games, will get opportunities.
“I have come down with an open mind and to assess where we are at in terms of the playing side of things.
“That is something that will continue between now and until the end of the season.
“I will be sitting down with all the players seeing what their thoughts are and what my thoughts are. But ultimately my main concern this week is to go and try to win a football match.”
TEAM NEWS
Bohemians are without the injured Jon McCraken, James Talbot, Ryan Burke, Laurenz Dehl, Tyreke Wilson, John O’Sullivan, Chris Lotefa, Johnny Afolabi and Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe, but Liam Burt is available once more.
