Gavin Cooney

SHAMROCK ROVERS MANAGER Stephen Bradley admitted his side have been left at a disadvantage by travel complications en route to the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifier against Ludogorets of Bulgaria. [Live RTE Two; KO 6.45pm] 

Rovers qualified for the tie by seeing off Hibernians of Malta last Tuesday, but there were no charter planes available to fly them directly to Razgrad in the northwest of Bulgaria for tomorrow’s first leg. Ludogorets, by contrast, will have the luxury of a charter to Dublin for next week’s second leg. Without the charter, Rovers had to travel to Bulgaria in separate groups, some of whom flew direct while others took connecting flights. 

“It helps if you can go direct to the place that you’re playing in, there’s no doubt about that”, said Bradley at his pre-match press conference in Razgrad. “It helps if you can travel direct and we haven’t been able to. But it’s done, there’s nothing we can do about it now. It’s definitely an advantage.” 

Rovers face a daunting task tomorrow night. Ludogorets, bankrolled by pharmaceutical billionaire Kiril Domuschiev, have won 11-straight league titles and have twice made the group stages of the Champions League in that run, while they have been regular fixtures in the Europa League group stage in the years they’ve missed out on the biggest competition of them all. 

“It’s a massive challenge”, admitted Bradley. “They are a team that dominated domestically for the last ten years. They’ve obviously been in the group stages on a number of occasions. They’ve a lot of players from around the world in their team. But we know it’s a big ask, a big task. But we’ve been here before, we’ve played big clubs, big teams, we know it will be difficult, but we have quality as well.” 

Rovers’ development under Bradley means they are no strangers to heavyweight opposition, however, having played AC Milan and Slovan Bratislava across the last two seasons. 

“Every game, especially in Europe, you try to learn and grow from it. And you hope that experience will make you better. I think our experience last year will definitely stand to us in games like this one tomorrow night. The quality of opposition for Slovan and Milan, that sort of level, so we’d be hoping the experience we gained last year and the year before will definitely stand to us.”

Captain Ronan Finn, meanwhile, is closing in on Gary Rogers’ record for a LOI player’s appearances in Europe: Rogers clocked 54, while Finn will make it 50 tomorrow night if he starts. 

Ronan Finn celebrates his goal in the first leg of the first-round win against Hibernians. Evan Treacy / INPHO Evan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

He’s also been around long enough to become sick of being patronised. 

“That part of it annoys me a bit – the moral victories”, said Finn. “I’ve experienced enough of it where you do well, put on a good performance but fall. It’s something we’re trying to change. The manager is building a group to be more than that, to succeed in the challenge. I feel we’re coming to a stage where we’ve the squad to compete at the highest level, to play in the top games. Tomorrow will be a challenge.

“Over the years, I’ve played in the games that we’ve got turned over. We need to get away from that as a league. We’re doing that in this club. We’ve set our stall out by setting targets within the group and tomorrow is part of it.”

 ”We have a game plan, we back ourselves as players, we have a template we play off. The level of detail we are given from the staff gives us that opportunity. Then it’s up to us: we are the ones who cross the white line, we are the ones on the pitch who have to deliver. But we have been given every opportunity with the homework we’ve been given. We are under no illusions, they are a good side. It’s a game over two legs and we want to make sure we are going back to Tallaght with it all to play for. 

Rovers have been boosted by the fact they have a fully-fit squad, as Neil Farrugia has returned to fitness, following Jack Byrne and Graham Burke’s return to the squad for last week’s goalless draw in Malta. Bradley said all of the players available last week will be at his disposal tomorrow night, which includes Andy Lyons, amid reports linking him with a move to Blackpool. Bradley declined to comment when asked about Lyons, stressing his focus is solely on tomorrow’s game. 

Both Bradley and Finn sported shaved heads at the press-conference, as will a number of Rovers players on the pitch tomorrow night. They have shaved their heads as part of a charity initiative launched by Bradley’s family to raise funds for children’s hospitals and charities. Bradley’s eight-year-old son Josh has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. (The fundraiser has already raised almost €70,000, and you can donate here.) 

“There’s a group of us who have done it”, said Finn. “It’s something very close to Stephen’s family and is now part of our campaign. We want to bring success for Stephen’s family and this is just a small thing. If it puts a smile on Josh’s face, we’ll be delighted.”