Dec 13,2024
Stephen Bradley believes that his team is earning the respect of European opponents after Shamrock Rovers continued their unbeaten streak in the UEFA Conference League.
Rovers secured an impressive 3-0 victory over FK Borac at Tallaght Stadium to make it five in a row unbeaten in the league phase of the competition, and have progressed to the knock-out phase with one game remaining.
The Hoops have three wins and two draws from their first five games of the six-match schedule and will finish this phase with a glamourous away day at Stamford Bridge to take on Premier League giants Chelsea next Thursday.
And the performances are shining the spotlight on the League of Ireland side who are gaining plaudits from every performance in this year's campaign.
A tentative start to the campaign as Rovers had to battle back against a strong APOEL side to secure a hard-fought point in the first game, which appeared to instil the confidence to earn back-to-back wins against Larne and The New Saints.
Remarkably, Rovers then went to Austria and earned a point against the highly rated Rapid Vienna, which all but guaranteed safe passage to the knockouts.
And tonight’s comprehensive victory over Borac – a team who had accumulated seven points ahead of their trip to Tallaght – sealed their spot, as the Hoops sit in sixth place going into the final round of games.
The top eight will progress automatically into the last 16, however, Rovers would probably need some type of positive result against Chelsea next week to have a chance of remaining in that bracket.
But Bradley’s side can finish no lower than 16th out of the 36-team league, which guarantees them a seeded berth should they move into the play-off stage.
Either way, for the first time ever an Irish side will be involved in European competition beyond the New Year, and bizarrely the new League of Ireland campaign will have begun before Rovers complete this season’s European duties.
"I felt that in a few games in Europe this year, I felt it in Vienna, I felt it in a few games that the team has earned respect from clubs and teams around Europe," said Bradley, speaking at the post-match press conference. "And with that comes how they defend and how they play against you, and I think that is down to us building over a period of time.
"And how we play, I feel our style helps, because we don’t have to change too much coming from domestic into Europe, but the players earn that respect on the pitch.
"I can put game-plans in place, tactics and pick teams, but when you cross the white line, you have to have the character and the want to go and play under pressure and play in big environments, and they have done that.
"With that comes respect, because when people analyse you and look at you, they see a clear identity in what you are trying to do and how you do it.
"And when we do what we do at a high level it can be really, really good, and when we get it wrong, it can be really bad, but when we get it right, it is really good, and we have seen that tonight."
Johnny Kenny’s early goal set the tone for the Hoops as Bradley’s side maintained the lead until the break without too much fuss, and the manager’s plans came to fruition in the second half as Rovers punished the visitors with two further goals to secure the victory and the three points.
"Yeah, we spoke about it at half-time, we felt they would press us higher in the second half, and we felt if they did that, we could really expose in behind with our pace from Neil (Farrugia), Johnny (Kenny), Darragh (Burns) and Josh (Honahan)," said Bradley, when asked did Borac fall into his side’s trap by trying to force the play in search of an equaliser.
"We felt that they would commit more to the press, which they did, and it gave us real opportunities to exploit it.
"But again, you can show the players and talk about it, but they have to execute it, and they did, so the second half was really good."
On-loan striker Kenny’s two goals brought him to the 20-goal mark for the season, and becomes the first Rovers player to hit the milestone since star striker Gary Twigg completed the feat over a decade ago.
And the manager was full of praise for the Celtic man, while accepting that his rising profile may work against his efforts to hold onto the striker for the 2025 campaign.
"It means Johnny has done well. That’s good, that’s healthy. We’re helping him do well," said Bradley.
"What the future will be will be. I’m having discussions all the time myself with Johnny, I’m quite clear where he is, we just have to enjoy what he’s doing this year.
"We’ve seen real maturity and someone grow before your eyes, it’s a pleasure to watch. There’s so much more to come from him.
"I think he can be a really top player, there’s still loads to come. Hopefully we’re the ones to help him get there."
One thing Bradley can plan for is next week’s trip to Chelsea in what could prove a daunting task as Rovers take on the Conference League leaders, who have maximum points and have scored 21 goals in their five victories.
"I don’t like that," said Bradley, when asked was it a free hit next week with qualification already assured.
"I get it, we are going to Chelsea, we are going to one of the best teams in European football right now, one of the biggest clubs, I get all that, I understand that.
"But we will go and give it everything we have got and see what happens. We put ourselves in a position where we can go as a club and enjoy the occasion, the fans, the club, the players everyone, but we go there focused and try to do the best we can, but we know what we are against over there.
"They are scoring goals for fun. They have an incredible squad, an incredible team, probably the most in-form team in Europe at the moment.
"It’s going to be difficult, but that’s why you’re in the game. You want to go to these places and you want to go with a game-plan and let’s see what happens, and see where it takes us."
