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.
