Nov 19,2024
Kevin Doherty says that the motivation to stay involved in the Premier Division of the SSE Airtricity League was a big driving force in their success over the last 10 days.
Drogheda United won the Sports Direct FAI Cup, upsetting Derry City at the Aviva Stadium, before maintaining their top flight status with a relatively straightforward 3-1 victory over Bray Wanderers on Saturday.
All told, followers of Drogs can look forward to a 2025 filled with top-flight soccer, as well as the lure of European participation during the summer and beyond, potentially.
"The two years previous [to this one] and the year before when Tim [Clancy] was in charge, we punched above our weight," he said.
"I genuinely think this would have been the worst year to go down in a long, long time because you can see the interest in the league.
"There's so many more things happening with solidarity money for the league, and being in the Premier Division makes things more possible.
"I spoke to the players before the game in the dressing room in Tallaght because we were playing Bray and the Bray team from 1999 were on the pitch at half time in the Aviva when we played.
"It hit me when I said it to them, 'in 25 years that'll be you, lads. You've won the FAI Cup, it's a great achievement but it'll be tinged with regret and sadness if you look back and say that we were relegated a week later.'
"So it's whatever motivates you and motives players. It can be fear of failure sometimes, or dreaming of success. So whatever each individual player had to do to motivate themselves to be ready for that week, every single one of them carried it off."
From the club's perspective, new owners came in to Drogheda at the end of last year following a vote of members, and Doherty says that has been a real positive as the club looks to build on the momentum of their end of season success.
"Our new owners only officially took over in February but it was around this time last year that they had the vote with the members.
"For them to come in now and be able to improve so many things off the pitch for us - housing the players, food - that we wouldn't have done [before].
"We stayed in a hotel before the play-off final as well and that wouldn't have happened before. We're only doing things now that other clubs have been doing, and still do.
"But it certainly gives me the belief and the confidence in the future, and wanting to be in the league and progressing the league."
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While some clubs have already been prominently speaking about players that they have signed for the 2025 season, Drogheda's extended campaign means that they're slightly behind others as they look to build a squad that can do it all over again.
"We have a week off in the mid-season break in June, so I'm looking forward to that already," Doherty joked when asked about squad building after such a climactic period.
"We're only over the maddest couple of weeks in the club's history. It'd be nice now to sit back and relax for a day, or so. I won't get a break, I just won't.
"The nature of our season going on a bit longer [means] other clubs have got a head start on us in recruitment. We've been working, I was on the phone all morning to different agents and players.
"If you stand still in this league, you're going backwards."
