Shane McEleney has faith in Derry’s trajectory
Shane McEleney believes that Derry City have improved massively over the last few years and that they aren’t too far away from bringing real success to the club.
The Candystripes’ hopes of claiming their first League title in 26 years all but came to an end with Friday night’s goalless draw at Drogheda United.
The stalemate means City, who have only three matches remaining, are four points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers, who have a game in hand.
“We were a wee bit flat in the dressing room after the game and I would be lying if I told you otherwise,” admitted McEleney.
“It does look like it’s over, but the even bigger picture for me is that we’re knocking on the door.
“If you look back a couple of years ago before Ruaidhrí (Higgins) took over, the club was in a relegation battle and that’s the big picture. We’ve come such a long way in such a short space of time and we’re knocking on the door. We’re not through the door yet, but we’re in the mix and I think from this group of players there’s honesty, integrity and work rate from the boys.
“We all back each other and I think there’s only going to be good things coming from the boys in the upcoming years. If it’s not this year then so be it and it’s just not meant to be, but for the rest of the season our main focus is trying to finish well.”
The 32-year-old wants the Candystripes to remain fully focused on their remaining games, starting with a home clash against in-form Shelbourne this month.
“The manager has us focused solely on game by game, so we’ve Shels in a couple of weeks’ time at the Brandywell and that’s our next focus, trying to pick up the three points,” he added.
“By no means will it be an easy game, it never is,
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