EVEN IF SHELBOURNE beat Drogheda United tonight to guarantee fourth place, the players won’t be quite sure exactly what they are celebrating when they gather for their end-of-season party in Dublin city centre tomorrow.
European qualification through that Premier Division finish is dependent on St Patrick’s Athletic beating Bohemians in the FAI Cup final on 12 November.
Crucially, there remains an element of uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Damien Duff, too.
The two-year contract he signed in November 2021 runs out this month and a new deal has yet to be agreed with the club’s Turkish owner, Acun Ilicali.
In June, when the takeover was completed, Ilicali laid out the ambition to dethrone Shamrock Rovers as League of Ireland champions in 2024 and felt assured by his early meetings with the former Ireland international.
“With Damien, it won’t take long,” Ilicali teased at a press conference held at Aviva Stadium, where Shels lost the previous season’s FAI Cup final to Derry City in Duff’s first season in charge.
“Let me put all the stress on his shoulders. I met with [Duff] beforehand and today. From these meetings with our coach, we are not far away. Next season I am very confident we will be a very strong team. If you ask me, what is the target? If we are not in Europe for next season I will be disappointed.
“And why not become the champions? It would not be a miracle. Next season, with many, many recruits, we can go into higher positions.”
The future of Duff is most pressing.
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There is no sense among the squad currently that he is a manager who will be bidding farewell, yet with no deal confirmed the door is left ajar for speculation.
“It’s been the best two years of my life, that’s down to staff and players, to take this club and help get it back to where it belongs, I guess that’s what puts bums on seats,” Duff said ahead of the Drogheda game.
“I didn’t go to many League of Ireland games when I was younger but I know and fully believe that the heart and soul is officially back at Shelbourne FC, maybe at times over the last 20 years, difficult times, hard days for Shels supporters, you could debate was the thing that made the club special still there?
“Going up to Weavers Park, I know it’s back, the heart and soul of Shels is there with a bang, let’s carry that with us away from home and get our part of the job done.”
There are more permutations to consider with this final-day drama.
Declan Devine’s side could still nab fourth spot themselves should the most dramatic of nights unfold.
Bohs need to win at home to Cork City – who have a promotion/relegation play-off in their sights – and hope Drogheda beat Shels along with Dundalk also dropping points away to UCD.
“The last couple of weeks have been bitterly disappointing because we have put so much effort into our league campaign. We have spoken openly and honestly about points that we have left behind this year,” Devine said.
“There have been a lot of twists and turns. To think that 14 days ago we were targeting a win with the aim of moving up to second place, and then two defeats down the line we are in sixth fighting for our lives trying to finish fourth. That is obviously a bitter blow for everyone.”
Shels, at least, have some control over their own fate and, should they leave Louth with a win, they will still require a favour from St Pat’s a week on Sunday.
What happens tonight will determine the mood when the majority of Duff’s men toast their season’s endeavours over drinks in town tomorrow.
Such gatherings, which the manager has encouraged through his time at Tolka Park, happen roughly once a month and have helped create a bond among the squad.
Jack Moylan is carried off the pitch at Tolka Park last week. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Results and a continued upward trajectory on the pitch have only strengthened that sense of togetherness.
They will definitely be bidding farewell to Jack Moylan, though, the forward’s move to League One side Lincoln City confirmed last month.
He may well finish the Premier Division as top scorer, another tight battle given he’s currently tied with Chris Forrester (St Pat’s), Jonathan Afolabi (Bohs) and Ruairí Keating (Cork) on 13 goals.
Regardless, the 22-year-old will no doubt enjoy some of his favoured bottles of strawberry and lime cider as he toasts a year in which he came to the fore under Duff.
There are several more Shels players out of contract, although key figures like Gavin Molloy, Sean Boyd, JJ Lunney, Conor Kearns and Mark Coyle have recently agreed new terms.
Whether they will be part of a European adventure led by Duff is still up in the air.
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Contract situation no distraction as Duff aims for Europe with Shelbourne
EVEN IF SHELBOURNE beat Drogheda United tonight to guarantee fourth place, the players won’t be quite sure exactly what they are celebrating when they gather for their end-of-season party in Dublin city centre tomorrow.
European qualification through that Premier Division finish is dependent on St Patrick’s Athletic beating Bohemians in the FAI Cup final on 12 November.
Crucially, there remains an element of uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Damien Duff, too.
The two-year contract he signed in November 2021 runs out this month and a new deal has yet to be agreed with the club’s Turkish owner, Acun Ilicali.
In June, when the takeover was completed, Ilicali laid out the ambition to dethrone Shamrock Rovers as League of Ireland champions in 2024 and felt assured by his early meetings with the former Ireland international.
“With Damien, it won’t take long,” Ilicali teased at a press conference held at Aviva Stadium, where Shels lost the previous season’s FAI Cup final to Derry City in Duff’s first season in charge.
“Let me put all the stress on his shoulders. I met with [Duff] beforehand and today. From these meetings with our coach, we are not far away. Next season I am very confident we will be a very strong team. If you ask me, what is the target? If we are not in Europe for next season I will be disappointed.
“And why not become the champions? It would not be a miracle. Next season, with many, many recruits, we can go into higher positions.”
The future of Duff is most pressing.
There is no sense among the squad currently that he is a manager who will be bidding farewell, yet with no deal confirmed the door is left ajar for speculation.
“It’s been the best two years of my life, that’s down to staff and players, to take this club and help get it back to where it belongs, I guess that’s what puts bums on seats,” Duff said ahead of the Drogheda game.
“I didn’t go to many League of Ireland games when I was younger but I know and fully believe that the heart and soul is officially back at Shelbourne FC, maybe at times over the last 20 years, difficult times, hard days for Shels supporters, you could debate was the thing that made the club special still there?
“Going up to Weavers Park, I know it’s back, the heart and soul of Shels is there with a bang, let’s carry that with us away from home and get our part of the job done.”
There are more permutations to consider with this final-day drama.
Declan Devine’s side could still nab fourth spot themselves should the most dramatic of nights unfold.
Bohs need to win at home to Cork City – who have a promotion/relegation play-off in their sights – and hope Drogheda beat Shels along with Dundalk also dropping points away to UCD.
“The last couple of weeks have been bitterly disappointing because we have put so much effort into our league campaign. We have spoken openly and honestly about points that we have left behind this year,” Devine said.
“There have been a lot of twists and turns. To think that 14 days ago we were targeting a win with the aim of moving up to second place, and then two defeats down the line we are in sixth fighting for our lives trying to finish fourth. That is obviously a bitter blow for everyone.”
Shels, at least, have some control over their own fate and, should they leave Louth with a win, they will still require a favour from St Pat’s a week on Sunday.
What happens tonight will determine the mood when the majority of Duff’s men toast their season’s endeavours over drinks in town tomorrow.
Such gatherings, which the manager has encouraged through his time at Tolka Park, happen roughly once a month and have helped create a bond among the squad.
Results and a continued upward trajectory on the pitch have only strengthened that sense of togetherness.
They will definitely be bidding farewell to Jack Moylan, though, the forward’s move to League One side Lincoln City confirmed last month.
He may well finish the Premier Division as top scorer, another tight battle given he’s currently tied with Chris Forrester (St Pat’s), Jonathan Afolabi (Bohs) and Ruairí Keating (Cork) on 13 goals.
Regardless, the 22-year-old will no doubt enjoy some of his favoured bottles of strawberry and lime cider as he toasts a year in which he came to the fore under Duff.
There are several more Shels players out of contract, although key figures like Gavin Molloy, Sean Boyd, JJ Lunney, Conor Kearns and Mark Coyle have recently agreed new terms.
Whether they will be part of a European adventure led by Duff is still up in the air.
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Damien Duff final day Shelbourne