Joe Carroll: It's amazing the change a few good results can make

When it’s a season of fluctuating fortunes, I often wonder how difficult it is for those with a big interest is soccer. In the League of Ireland, games come up with regularity, one and sometimes two per week.

When your team is going well, winning games with consistency, it’s all grand and dandy, victories celebrated, defeats quickly overcome. 

It was like that with Dundalk when Stephen Kenny was in charge. Attendances at Oriel were consistently high, with away games also well patronised by the wearers of the red and black crest; team and club management were at peace with themselves, and rarely having to be critical, newspaper hacks had little difficulty churning out copy. Winning teams are always much easier to write about.

That was then, now it’s different. There’s been no appreciable drop in Oriel crowds, and that’s to the credit to supporters. The Stephen now in charge –  O’Donnell, once a wearer of the white jersey –  would no doubt love to be able to emulate the feats of his namesake; results, however, are much different than those of the last decade.

The most depressing outcome of the season so far was the 4-0 defeat by Galway, putting an end to Cup aspirations and, as it seemed at the time, the only realistic chance of European football next season. 

When that was followed by a league loss to St Patrick’s at home, the computers went into overdrive, while those still using pencils reached for the sharpener. 

It wasn’t only O’Donnell and his sidekicks who were targeted – those running the club also came into focus, a regular occurrence this season.

But then what happens? O’Donnell’s team rout one-time sharp rivals, Cork City, and four days later hand out a lesson to Drogheda United, a win that always comes with bells and whistles on it.

So now, Euro football is back in the equation with fourth place in the points competition a possibility. The faithful are back in good voice, John Murphy has gone up a few octaves on the radio, and O’Donnell is probably getting a better night’s sleep than before. 

And the scribes? Flick over a few pages of this issue to get a few opinions and tomorrow read what the Demo opposition has to say.

It’s difficult for everyone when fortunes fluctuate in the way in which they have for the Lilywhites this season.