Gerard Lyttle believes one win can spark a run of decent form
Liam Maloney
STILL without a win away from home in this season’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, Sligo Rovers will attempt to smash this dreadful statistic tomorrow (Friday) when they take on Bohemians at Dalymount Park (7.45pm start).
The Bit O’Red, just above the bottom three, haven’t tasted a Premier Division victory since a 3-0 defeat of Limerick on May 6. They’ll be itching to pick up a win against Bohs this week, a team who are hardly igniting the top tier at the moment – yet the Dublin outfit are placed seventh, six points ahead of Rovers.
One of Rovers’ three victories so far (in 18 games) was against Bohs in The Showgrounds on April 8, a 2-0 win.
Rovers boss Gerard Lyttle, frustrated at recent results but honest and straightforward in his weekly reflections on soul destroying home draws against Finn Harps and Galway United, believes that his side are not far from turning the corner.
“We just need to stay positive. I think the win is coming and if we get that win we’ll see a different team in terms of confidence,” he stated.
“It is just about getting that result [a win], when you are in a situation where you are drawing games it is about momentum, we’ve just had the wrong momentum.”
“I don’t want us to be draw specialists – the players aren’t happy either, they want to be winning.”
A recurring flaw this season has been Rovers’ inability to retain leads in games. “We need to be more ruthless, more daring and take more chances. Sometimes we don’t do that.”
“A mindset can creep in where we sit off and play football in areas where we really aren’t doing anything. We need to be playing football in the final third,” he affirmed.
“But the tempo in training has been brilliant and if we can transfer that to a match situation then we are going to win games.”
Recent signings Rhys McCabe and Benny Igiehon aren’t available to play until July 1, with local Gary Armstrong, who previously played with Rovers before a spell on loan with the Gavin Dykes-managed Ballinamallard United, also in contention for a first team return next month.
Midfielder Daniel Kearns, who has had been injured in recent weeks, has returned to training. Lyttle is also planning further signings during the July transfer window.
For more from Sligo Rovers, see this week’s sport section of the Sligo Weekender.
