Pat Scully: ‘I think the next two or three years could be very exciting’

DESPITE losing one-nil away to Shelbourne on Friday night Pat Scully, installed as successor to Mike Kerley just last week, was heartened by the Limerick display at Tolka Park in Dublin.
Speaking to Leader Sport in the wake of the Super Blues’ second defeat of the season Pat Scully was eager to highlight the positive: “It was disappointing to get beaten.
“It will take a bit of time for the players to get know me and for me to get to know the players.


“The way I like to do things might be completely different to what the players are used to so it will take a bit of time to get things sorted out, but in saying that I don’t like losing and I didn’t like losing on Friday night.
“It was disappointing to give away a poor goal early in the game, but the players’ response in the second half was fantastic. We pinned Shelbourne back and it was obvious late in the game how worried Shels were.
“I think we deserved at least a draw out of the game. We can take plenty of positives from the game; we’ve loads that we can improve on and now we’re looking forward to the Monaghan game on Saturday.”
Limerick’s preparations for the clash with Shelbourne were hampered by injuries to the first-choice strike partnership of John Tierney (hamstring) and Paul Cummins.
Tierney is not expected to be ready in time for the game against Monaghan while the news concerning Cummins is much more encouraging. Cummins was forced off against Mervue United with a suspected broken bone in his foot, but the diagnosis now is that the former Aisling Annacotty man has a bruised bone in his foot and is expected to make his return to the starting eleven reasonably soon.
Nevertheless Pat Scully is looking forward to working with his squad of players: “We’ve some good young players and some experienced players. In terms of preparation the lads’ pre-season was disturbed so it will take a while to get them fully fit.
“We’ve already seen players pick up injuries because they didn’t get through a proper pre-season, but we’ve got to move on now. We have to forget about what went on before and as the weeks go by we will get better and better. They’re a good set of lads with a good spirit and their attitude to the game is top class.”
For a man regarded as one of the best up-and-coming managers in the league Pat Scully’s decision to join Limerick FC was always going to occupy the minds of League of Ireland supporters.
“I’d had two or three offers before speaking to Limerick,” Pat Scully explained to Leader Sport.
“I wanted to take a bit of time out after leaving Shamrock Rovers in October and I was enjoying my time with my family. Then I spoke to the chairman (Jack McCarthy) and I must say I like the challenge of it.
“I like the idea of a club in a big city like Limerick that’s a bit of a sleeping giant. People don’t associate the club with trying to achieve things and that’s something I would like to change. And, it’s not just about getting promoted; it’s about getting promoted and then staying up there. It’s about being ready for the Premier Division. I like to think I’m good at developing young players and developing a team. I think the next two or three years could be very exciting for Limerick. I believe you can achieve great things if you work hard and that’s what I intend to do here in Limerick.”
The Super Blues host Monaghan United at Jackman Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 5pm).
Pat Scully is looking forward to the game and who could blame him.
Monaghan have only managed a single point thus far (a draw with Longford) while they have lost to Mervue United, UCD and Shelbourne - Limerick clashed with Monaghan on four occasions last season winning two, drawing one and also losing one of those encounters.
“Monaghan is a big game for us,” admits Pat Scully.
“Without being disrespectful to Monaghan that’s a home game and it’s a game we should be winning.
“It will take time to get the players fit and to get my ideas across, but at the same time we have to keep getting results. We need to get a result against Monaghan and it would be great to win at home.”
Following Saturday’s crucial game Limerick FC will host a fund-raising greyhound race night in the Market’s Field. The night will comprise of a 10-race programme with race eight a ‘Buster’ race: the ticket with the correct finishing order in this race will receive a prize of €1,000 plus two tickets to see the Republic of Ireland take on Italy at Croke Park. ‘Buster’ tickets cost €20 each and are available from Limerick FC. Admission price is €8. For more information contact Limerick FC: 061 324 563.

Brian McDonnell