STEPHEN BRADLEY HAS confirmed that Richie Towell will not play for the club again in 2024 and is not currently training with the rest of the first team.
The Shamrock Rovers midfielder is out of contract at Tallaght Stadium once this year comes to an end when Hoops face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the UEFA Conference League on 19 December.
Towell now looks set to depart the club having not been involved in a matchday squad since venting his frustration at not being brought on as a substitute during last month’s Premier Division game with Shelbourne.
The 33-year-old also left the dugout area and stormed down the tunnel after Bradley opted to introduce Darragh Nugent instead. Towell last played for Rovers in the 1-1 draw with APOEL on 3 October but was not involved in any of the four matchday squads since the incident against Shels.
“Richie won’t be involved in any of the games coming up,” Bradley said ahead of tomorrow’s Conference League game with The New Saints.
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Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“No, [he]s not [training] at the moment. Look, I’ll speak about Richie at the end of the season when we’re finished but right now, tomorrow we have a massive game, a massive game for the team.”
When asked if Towell had played his last game for the club, Bradley replied: “I haven’t said that, I’ve said we’ll talk about Richie at the end of the year.”
Forward Marc McNulty is still part Rovers’ plans and will be registered for the next stage of the competition should they progress to either a play-off or last-16 proper.
Markus Poom and Darragh Burns’ loan deals also take them up to the final game of this year while there will be talks with Celtic about extending striker Johnny Kenny’s time into 2025.
On the injury front, Danny Mandroiu and Sean Kavanagh are both ruled out for the visit of TNS while there will be a late fitness test for Sean Hoare.
Rovers are in 10th place with four points in the league phase – just two off automatic qualification – and will be hoping to put Friday’s disappointment of losing out to Shelbourne in the title race behind them.
“Success can be a horrible teacher, it can make you comfortable. You can lose your edge and your sharpness. There is a reason that it’s not done around European and world football very often, in terms of being successful over a long period of time,” Bradley said of his side, who were going for their fifth championship in a row.
“Sometimes losing is not a bad thing, it hurts, it’s sore, but it’s not a bad thing if you’re willing to take the learnings from it and the lessons from it. It can make you better and stronger.
“It’s not raw, I hear what you’re saying and I understand where you’re coming from but it’s actually not raw because we didn’t deserve to win the league. It’s very, very simple for me. You move on very quickly and after derry game, one of the first conversations I had with the staff was about what need to change, what we need to do better to make sure we’re lifting the title next year.
“That’s always been my mindset and our mindset. It’s not about feeling sorry. If we had of done something like Liverpool did with Manchester City and got to 99 points and you get beat, that’s tough to take because you left everything out there. We didn’t do that this year so it’s quite simple and easy for me to take.
“Do I want to lose or do I like it? No, but it’s easy to understand. Its my job and our job to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that process has happened already.”
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Stephen Bradley confirms Richie Towell won't play for Shamrock Rovers again this year
STEPHEN BRADLEY HAS confirmed that Richie Towell will not play for the club again in 2024 and is not currently training with the rest of the first team.
The Shamrock Rovers midfielder is out of contract at Tallaght Stadium once this year comes to an end when Hoops face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the UEFA Conference League on 19 December.
Towell now looks set to depart the club having not been involved in a matchday squad since venting his frustration at not being brought on as a substitute during last month’s Premier Division game with Shelbourne.
The 33-year-old also left the dugout area and stormed down the tunnel after Bradley opted to introduce Darragh Nugent instead. Towell last played for Rovers in the 1-1 draw with APOEL on 3 October but was not involved in any of the four matchday squads since the incident against Shels.
“Richie won’t be involved in any of the games coming up,” Bradley said ahead of tomorrow’s Conference League game with The New Saints.
“No, [he]s not [training] at the moment. Look, I’ll speak about Richie at the end of the season when we’re finished but right now, tomorrow we have a massive game, a massive game for the team.”
When asked if Towell had played his last game for the club, Bradley replied: “I haven’t said that, I’ve said we’ll talk about Richie at the end of the year.”
Forward Marc McNulty is still part Rovers’ plans and will be registered for the next stage of the competition should they progress to either a play-off or last-16 proper.
Markus Poom and Darragh Burns’ loan deals also take them up to the final game of this year while there will be talks with Celtic about extending striker Johnny Kenny’s time into 2025.
On the injury front, Danny Mandroiu and Sean Kavanagh are both ruled out for the visit of TNS while there will be a late fitness test for Sean Hoare.
Rovers are in 10th place with four points in the league phase – just two off automatic qualification – and will be hoping to put Friday’s disappointment of losing out to Shelbourne in the title race behind them.
“Success can be a horrible teacher, it can make you comfortable. You can lose your edge and your sharpness. There is a reason that it’s not done around European and world football very often, in terms of being successful over a long period of time,” Bradley said of his side, who were going for their fifth championship in a row.
“Sometimes losing is not a bad thing, it hurts, it’s sore, but it’s not a bad thing if you’re willing to take the learnings from it and the lessons from it. It can make you better and stronger.
“It’s not raw, I hear what you’re saying and I understand where you’re coming from but it’s actually not raw because we didn’t deserve to win the league. It’s very, very simple for me. You move on very quickly and after derry game, one of the first conversations I had with the staff was about what need to change, what we need to do better to make sure we’re lifting the title next year.
“That’s always been my mindset and our mindset. It’s not about feeling sorry. If we had of done something like Liverpool did with Manchester City and got to 99 points and you get beat, that’s tough to take because you left everything out there. We didn’t do that this year so it’s quite simple and easy for me to take.
“Do I want to lose or do I like it? No, but it’s easy to understand. Its my job and our job to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that process has happened already.”
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