Alan Reynolds says Bohemians need a big night at Dalymount Park tomorrow if they are to get back to winning ways before the mid-season break.
International call-ups saw last week’s Dublin derbies against Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers postponed so Reynolds’ men are refreshed and relishing taking on title-chasing Derry City.
To avoid a clash with the opening night of the European Championships, all of this week’s League of Ireland fixtures take place on Thursday night, with Bohs not in action again until the Friday June 28 Dublin derby away to St Patrick’s Athletic.
Tomorrow will be the third meeting between Bohs and the Candystripes this season with Reynolds determined to finish on a high before the league takes a mid-season break.
Goals from Dayle Rooney and James Akintunde gave Bohs a 2-1 victory over Ruaidhrí Higgins’ men when the sides met at Dalymount in March.
But Reynolds’ side were left cursing squandered opportunities in the reverse fixture at the Brandywell last month when Michael Duffy’s goal five minutes from time was enough for the hosts to claim all three points.
Reynolds said: “We need a really big night and a really big shift from everyone at Dalymount as we are expecting a tough game against a really good side.
“We know plenty about Derry and they know plenty about us. We’ve beaten them here before I came in and they’ve beaten us in the Brandywell.
“But we played well against them, and had chances to get a result. There has been very little between the sides but Derry have come into a bit of form now.
“They are only two points off the top of the table so we are under no illusions about how difficult this game is going to be and how hard we are going to have to work to get a result.”
Bohs’ last outing saw them succumb to a 2-1 defeat away to Reynolds’ former club Waterford at the RSC a fortnight ago.
They went into that game looking like they had turned a corner – buoyed by an encouraging injury-time 2-2 draw against St Patrick’s Athletic and a 3-0 win away to Sligo Rovers – so the result and the performance were of frustration for Reynolds.
He said: “We played well for 25 to 30 minutes but we weren’t good enough after that, and we failed to deal with Waterford’s direct play. But that has been the story of our season so far and it has to change. We need to have consistency.”
Those inconsistency issues predate Reynolds’ arrival to the club in March, and he is determined to make changes to his squad when the transfer window opens next month in an effort to address it.
One man who will not be part of those plans is Bart Kukulowicz, who has returned to Poland after his contract was terminated by mutual consent, while Luke Matheson is due to return to parent club Bolton Wanderers next week when his loan spell comes to an end.
Reynolds added: “Bart hasn’t been in the team as often as he would have liked this year, so we both felt that it was the right time for him to move on and find a new club. We thank him for his efforts and I wish him all the best for the future.
“We all know that we need to strengthen next month. We have some very good players at the club but there are clearly certain areas where we have to improve if we are to push on.
“We have watched a lot of players and we have spoken to a lot of players. It is an extremely competitive market out there for all clubs at the moment but we know the areas we need to prioritise.”
Team news
Declan McDaid is a doubt while James McManus (foot), Brian McManus (ankle), Keith Buckley (knee) and Rob Cornwall (knee) remain out.