With over 6,500 tickets sold, availability remains for Friday night’s Dublin Derby. The match kicks off at 7.45pm, and is televised on Virgin Media 2

It was a hugely disappointing derby defeat to Bohs on Easter Monday, losing 3-2 having been 2-0 up at half time. You’ve reviewed it. Are your reasons you outlined for the defeat immediately after the game to SRFCTV similar now having seen it back?

“There’s a number or reasons why we lost the game in a twenty minute period which is something very, very unlike us. I can’t remember something like that happening before to this team and this group. But it’s happened and we’ve been punished for it. It’s our responsibility now to make sure we learn from it and that it never happens again, in any game. At the moment and at the time, it obviously hurts. We’ve lost the game, a Dublin derby, a game we never looked in any danger of  losing. And that’s the really frustrating bit. But as I’ve said before, it’s important for us to understand what happened and make sure we learn from that and that it doesn’t happen again.”

Was there maybe also a mental aspect from the group that the game was won at half time, particularly having scored our two goals just before the break?

“I don’t think it’s that as such. These players are experienced enough, played in enough games to know that the game is 90-plus minutes, it’s not 45. In any game there’ll be a lull, we understand that and that’s normal in any game. But we can’t do what we did in that second half, and especially that twenty minute period, and expect to win games. When you understand what our game plan was, in and out of possession, we did neither, as a group. So as I said, when you come away from it so drastically, it costs you and it cost us on Monday.”

You’d mentioned last week that Michael Noonan scoring goals was his “easy” bit. His first league goal for Rovers against Bohs was anything but easy but he made it look so.

“One thing I don’t and won’t worry about Michael is Michael scoring goals. I’ve seen Michael play since he’s eleven years of age. He scores goals, always has and always will. It’s about refining everything else that comes with that. There’s a bigger picture than that and that’s what we’re working really hard on at the moment with Michael. What I love about Michael is that elite mentality, to want to learn and having that hunger to learn. His goal on Monday is a special goal, he’s taken the ball all of sixty yards and made a great finish. But as I’ve said the last while, you can see the improvements in Michael and we’re still getting there. He has a really high ceiling and if he stays focussed, he’s in a good place.”

Results elsewhere on Easter Monday meant the table didn’t change much despite our defeat. So with only eleven games played and two points off the top, there’ll be no knee-jerk reaction among the group or staff about Monday’s defeat, particularly as our recent form had been very good.

“There never is. I think we’ve come out of a weekend where possibly we should’ve had six points and come out with one. That’s football, that’s life and sometimes that happens. But again what’s important is that we always focus on the bigger picture, the process of what we do and understand that works and that’s what we’ll always stick to. Do we have to learn from Monday and understand from Monday and last Friday why we haven’t got six points instead of one? Of course we do. If that doesn’t hurt, you shouldn’t be in the game. It’s really important to understand that we’ve been in a really good place and to stay focussed on what we do.”

The last of the trio of Dublin derbies looms with the visit of Shelbourne to Tallaght Stadium. We drew 1-1 in Tolka in a tight game. Can we expect similar tomorrow or will our pitch change the way the game might pan out?

“I’m sure the pitch will allow it to be a better footballing game. But there’s no doubt it will be a tight game. The two previous Dublin derbies were tight games do tomorrow night will be no different.”

Do you feel Shelbourne have tweaked or changed their set-up from last season?

“I’m sure there are little things they’ve changed or tweaked, that’s quite normal with most teams. But we know what Shels are about, but it’s more important what we’re about and we continue to do what we’ve been doing really well trust what we do, everything else will be fine.”

Gary O’Neill, Seán Kavanagh and Danny Mandroiu remain out. Are Seán Robertson and Aaron McEneff ready to return and we haven’t seen Trevor Clarke recently so is he back in contention and have we anyone else unavailable for Shelbourne?

“Yes, Danny and Gary remain out, Seán Kavanagh is the longer one. Seán Robertson is almost there, if not tomorrow he’ll be next week. Aaron McEneff is a week to ten days away but he’s doing well and feels good. Trevor missed a lot of pre-season, he had a bad injury before pre-season and then when he came back, he dislocated a finger in training, very similar to what happened to Alan Mannus a couple of years ago. So that set Trevor back another few weeks. He’s been fully back the last two weeks but he just needs to get back up to speed. He’s worked hard and wants to be involved now and he’s frustrated but he’s missed all of the start of the season in terms of being with the team. Everyone else is fine.”