Oct 22,2024
While Derry City left Oriel Park on Friday night with three points to keep themselves in a four-way title race going into the last two weekends of a gripping SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division season, the mood among the hosts was both sombre and fractious.
Dundalk are officially down to the First Division as a result of the 2-0 defeat, an outcome that would have been unthinkable at the height of the Stephen Kenny era when adventures in Europe were becoming the norm and the trophy cabinet was stocked with silverware.
Those days feel like a distant memory now and the future is one of uncertainy amid off-the-field struggles that almost led to oblivion last month before the club stepped back from the precipice.
For former Dundalk striker David McMillan, whose goals were a regular feature of the glory days, domestically and in Europe, relegation itself is not the primary concern; rather it is ensuring that the Lilywhites are a going concern by the time next season's First Division kicks off.
"It happens to clubs, it's a sad state of affairs that a club that was doing so well over the last decade is now down in the First Division.
"Cork City have gone down and bounced straight back, it's not the end of the world. The whole situation behind the scenes is far more concerning than the club being relegated.
"It just worries me in terms of the future for the club in general.
"I think if there's a club there in January then that's the only thing that will matter and that there's a club there that starts next season.
"The problem is the noises are that that may not be the situation and that's the most concerning thing."
John Temple, who led the consortium that took over the club in September, is due to offer more clarity on the next steps in the near future.
But unity between different stakeholders, including fan groups, around Dundalk is imperative as they face into oncoming headwinds, according to McMillan and former Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic goalkeeper Barry Murphy.
"It's just so fractious up there, even just in the supporters groups, when the only thing that will save this club is unity and a clear alignment and it's the total opposite at the moment," Murphy said.
"It's been two-pronged, because as David's said, their recruitment has been abysmal from the start of the season.
"They signed seven loan players - four in the first window and three in the second - and that, along with over half their players coming from outside the league, it just doesn't work."
Murphy added that the number of goalkeepers involved this year was indicative of the recruitment and squad-building issues at Dundalk.
"They've been chopping and changing four goalkeepers and then you've got a young lad in Eoin Kenny leading the line.
"The top scorer has only got six goals this season, so when you add that all together, the two-pronged decisions from the club have gone totally wrong this year."
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