SSE Airtricity League reporter Conor Clancy spoke to UCD boss Collie O'Neill after the 4-0 win over Shelbourne... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSE Airtricity League reporter Conor Clancy spoke to UCD boss Collie O'Neill after the 4-0 win over Shelbourne...
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UCD boss Collie O’Neill was quick to play down talk of promotion despite his side claiming a 4-0 win over Shelbourne in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.
Following on from last week’s win over local rivals Cabinteely, UCD have taken maximum points from their opening two games of 2017.
“I’ll still be quick to play that [promotion] down. I said last week with the kids that we brought in, there’s great talent and depth here, which was great to bring back in on our normal squad here tonight.
“We wanted to be fast out of the blocks and get as many goals as quickly as we could because I was worried a bit of fatigue might have dropped in with the all the games that the lads have played in the last while.
“There’s good talent here in this club but I still think we’ll fall short when it comes to the end [of the season].”
In unpleasant weather conditions, the Students came under some early pressure from their visitors, but the defence held tight, something that O’Neill admits to have focused on in pre-season.
“Last year I felt we were a little bit open; a little bit exposed so we’ve gone and tried to compact it a little bit more so that when we do lose possession of the ball we’re not picked off quite easily.”
With UCD leading 4-0 at the break, they took control of the game in the second half, and saw it out with relative ease, something O’Neill took great pride in.
“The one thing I ask of my players is to have the courage to get on the ball. To me, that is the biggest courage for any player on the pitch.
“To get a mixture of players that are willing to work hard and have the courage to say ‘go give me the ball’, that’s the kind of players I want and that we have at the club. If we can keep them here long enough we’ll bear fruit.”
Next up for O’Neill and UCD is another home game against promotion favourites Waterford.
