Nov 12,2024
Derry City manager Ruaidhrí Higgins has admitted that the club "needs a refresh" but he won't be the man to oversee it, according to ex-Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Barry Murphy.
Higgins watched his side put in a limp performance in Sunday's Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup final, as they went down 2-0 to underdogs Drogheda United.
This comes on the back of a poor finish in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division, as the Candystripes ended up coming fourth after appearing to be in a two-horse race with eventual champions Shelbourne for much of the season.
A former Derry City player, Higgins took over the managerial reins in April 2021 and while he did lead them to FAI Cup glory in 2022, he hasn't delivered the league title that many expected, given the level of investment in the squad.
This season also saw Derry exit the UEFA Conference League at the first hurdle, where they lost to Gibraltarian minnows Bruno's Magpies, and Sunday's defeat to Drogheda means that they won't be returning to the continent in 2025.
"I think things have probably gone too far. They (Derry supporters) came down in hope more than expectation. It felt that if Drogheda put it up to them, would they have the backbone to go and meet that? I don't think they thought themselves that that was going to happen.
"You could kind of see it throughout the week, looking at some of the build-up for Derry. It just seemed flat in comparison to Drogheda. The work they do is almost politician-like the week before an election, going to all of the schools, getting everybody geed-up to come down and help them get over the line. It just didn't seem like that from Derry.
"You could probably trace it back to July, that Magpies game, it's just gone stale up there. They were still in the title contest at that stage up until the last three games.
"He's got a year left on his contract but will they give him the chance to go and rebuild when he's had three years to build a team and he just hasn't done it?
"They've brought in certain players. You thought Pat Hoban was going to be that missing link up front to go and win them a title and that hasn't happened, his goals have kind of dried up towards the end.
"There has been some glaringly obvious things that needed to be addressed. Centre-half needed to be addressed. They probably needed someone in midfield that was going to play every game.It was obvious Patrick McEleney was going to be injury-prone. Will Patching has been in and out.
"The contract situations are a massive thing as well. You look at the likes of Brian Maher who is out of contract at the end of the year. How is he not tied down to a deal? It's obvious he's looking elsewhere or he's been talking and they can't get him over the line.
"Those things should be sorted out before going into a massive cup final to give you a gee-up. That's been missing the past few months at Derry and I think the change will come at the top."
Former Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy was in agreement, but the ex-Drogheda man added that whoever takes over would be inheriting a multi-talented squad at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
"I don't think an awful lot needs to change," Treacy told host Raf Diallo.
"When you look at the Derry City squad on paper, you'd be buzzing to come in and take charge of that dressing room.
"There's an awful lot of talent that would be the envy of most if not all; probably only Shamrock Rovers can boast a stronger squad.
"I just think a lot of them have under-performed. On paper, Drogheda were the underdogs, not to sound disrespectful, but Derry should be beating Drogheda every day of the week with the amount of talent they have, the resources, the size of the club. They're a full-time outfit. They should have been able to turn that screw, they should have been able to find holes.
"When Ruaidhrí comes out and says it needs a refresh, that's extremely honest from him. Generally, when it needs a refresh, you're not going to refresh with 10 or 11 players, you're going to refresh with a new manager.
"I think he's let us peek behind the curtain there of his own thoughts."
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