Scully dismisses ‘pub league’ description of First Division

LIMERICK FC manager Pat Scully has dismissed Shaun Williams’ assertion that the League of Ireland First Division was a “pub league”.


On Friday the Sporting Fingal winger, on the eve of their promotion play-off against Bray Wanderers, said that it would be heartbreaking to miss out on promotion to the Premier Division and be condemned to another season in the First Division.
“Obviously it would be heartbreaking to get this far and to be pegged back for another year, it’d be terrible,” the 23-year-old winger told the Irish Independent.
“The First Division is like a pub league compared to the Premier Division. The standard of player and facilities is just 10 times better in the Premier -- the First Division is horrendous in comparison.”
“Every league has a two-tier system so you are always going to have a situation where one division is slightly weaker and made up of younger players who need to develop before they become Premier Division players. You can’t dispute that,” Pat Scully said.
“But that was an arrogant comment to make. All players have to start somewhere. It’s easy to look at a lower level and criticise it. I’ve no problems with the First Division at all. There’s plenty of good clubs and good players in it.”
Pat Scully was also surprised that a Sporting Fingal player would make such a comment about the division - after all Sporting did not win the First Division and required a play-off win over Bray Wanderers (4-2 on aggregate) to book their place in next season’s Premier Division.
“The funny thing is that Sporting Fingal had the biggest budget this year in the First Division and because of that they should have won the division,” Pat Scully said.
“Instead they had to get through a play-off with Bray Wanderers to be promoted. So it’s a bit hypocritical for a player from that team to criticise the division after they failed to win it in the first place.
“Shaun is entitled to his opinion, afterall football is all about opinions, but, for me, the First Division has a lot of plusses, a lot of good players and a lot of good facilities.
“From our own point of view we have some things to improve on and work on. And, we’re working hard to move the club forward.”
Supporters will be heartened to learn that Limerick FC have already signed 11 players for the 2010 season and that they have made approaches to sign up to six more players to strengthen the squad.
Super Blues fans will be most concerned about the future of striker Stephen O’Flynn who scored 14 goals since he joined Limerick FC in July. It is widely understood that several rival clubs have their eye on O’Flynn, but Pat Scully is hopeful that the talented centre-forward will sign for another season.
“Stephen has really enjoyed his time with Limerick and we know that other people are trying to sign him,” Scully added.
“We’ve met with Stephen and we have done everything we can to convince him to stay, so we hope that he will.”
Although the Limerick FC playing squad missed out on a proper pre-season campaign for the past two years Pat Scully will not allow that to happen this time round.
The squad have already received details a three-week programme which each individual player must carry out before pre-season starts on January 16 next while the club are also currently attempting to organise a series of pre-season friendlies.

Brian McDonnell

‘Worst night of my managerial career’

ALMOST ten weeks ago Limerick FC played their part in an unadulterated orgy of free-flowing football and quite probably the most entertaining match in the League of Ireland that particular weekend.
UCD paid a visit to Jackman Park and were extremely fortunate to walk away with a point following an enthralling nil-all draw.


The Super Blues deserved to win the game and the Students knew it. Leaving the field the then league leaders breathed a sigh of relief while Limerick FC fans sensed a revolution.
That encounter represented Pat Scully’s ninth league game at the helm. Mere days after Scully succeeded Mike Kerley Limerick FC lost to Shelbourne away from home, but in the wake of that defeat the Super Blues only lost once (to Waterford) in eight games.
Then against UCD, a game Limerick should have won, Pat Scully’s side showed they had learnt to compete with the division’s top sides.
Just then the wheels came off. Five key players found themselves injured following the game against UCD and Limerick’s form dipped horribly. Pat Scully’s side have only managed seven points from their last eight league games losing to Mervue United, Shelbourne, Monaghan, Waterford and on Friday night last they were humiliated (4-1) by Sporting Fingal. That disastrous run has left Limerick trailing the league leaders Shelbourne by 23 points and their 2009 season in ruins.
Ten weeks ago Limerick FC laid down a marker that they could compete with the top sides in the division, but on Friday night they, sadly, were humiliated.
Almost at will Sporting Fingal tore a hole in Limerick that you could have driven an eighteen wheeler through.
As the game progressed from bad to worse manager Pat Scully looked upon the exchanges with an increasingly disinterested eye, as if he had just uncovered his plate in a fine restaurant and found a Nutella sandwich. Normally Scully maintains a conspicuous presence on the sideline, but minutes into the second half on Friday night he retreated to the sanctuary of dug out.
“Our defending was awful against (Sporting) Fingal,” explained a disconsolate Pat Scully to Leader Sport.
“It was very embarrassing and the worst night of my managerial career.
“I’m embarrassed for the club, the board and most of all for the supporters. The manner of the defeat was the most galling of all and at one stage it was obvious that we had given up.
“It was a really bad night.
“Four, five and six games ago we were playing well, but we were not taking chances and that was costing us. Now it’s different. Now we’re not defending well and we’re not scoring. We really are performing poorly.”
Pat Scully was expecting a positive reaction to Limerick FC’s defeat at the hands of Waterford United a week previously, but he didn’t get it.
“We didn’t react to the Waterford game,” Pat Scully said.
“We did introduce new players to the team and to be fair the team looked a little dis-jointed. Stephen O’Flynn did well and I think the new lads will be good players for us, but we can’t defend like that and give away goals so easy. They scored their first goal during the first few minutes. They won possession in midfield and had the ball in the back of our net without our lads getting in a single tackle. You just can’t hope to get results performing like that.”
Perhaps now it’s time for Limerick FC to reassess their targets for the season and re-adjust their ambitions downward.
Pat Scully chewed over that question as if it were cud: “Maybe you’re right maybe we need to start again.
“We didn’t set huge targets for the team when I came in. I am disappointed that we didn’t get the results that we should have done. There’s definitely a little bit of adapting to be done. We’re trying to instill a set of standards in the club that will get Limerick out of this division in the near future. Maybe we need time for things to settle down again, but in saying that I am disappointed in myself and in the results. The supporters of the club will look at the results and they have a right to be disappointed, that’s what football is all about.
“We’ve got a good set of lads at the club, they’re very honest and they’re very disappointed with how things are going. They are suffering from a dip in their confidence so now it’s a case of the players needing to keep believing. We need to up our concentration, defend better and score more goals. We’ve come to a point in the season now where we can’t keep saying that we have been unlucky. Against Fingal we were not unlucky, but we have to learn from the defeat.”
Thankfully Limerick’s injury crisis has begun to ease a little with club captain Pat Purcell the most notable addition to training this week.
Meanwhile the Super Blues prepare for an arduous trip to Ballybofey to face Finn Harps next Saturday night.
When the sides met at Jackman Park on May 8 Finn Harps clung on for a one-all draw with next weekend’s clash representing a crucial encounter for both sides.
Like Limerick Finn Harps have failed to win their last three games and in consecutive weeks have lost to Sporting Fingal, Waterford United and most recently Shelbourne.
“Finn Harps is a tough place to go,” admitted manager Pat Scully, “but we have to roll up our sleeves and show everyone, all over again, that we are a good team.”

Brian McDonnell