'I know there are better days ahead'

Ruaidhri Higgins has promised Derry City fans that there are better days ahead, insisting he has never been more confident in a group of players than his current squad.

Defeats to Drogheda United and Bohemians over the Easter weekend has slammed the brakes on what was previously a good start to the new season, with the Candystripes now trailing league leaders Bohemians by six points.

But Higgins has sent out a strong message ahead of the game against Dundalk this weekend, urging supporters to match the faith that he has in his squad during what he feels is nothing more than a blip.

“We’re not saying it’s acceptable by any stretch of the imagination, but when you weigh everything up, we have four or five of the best players in the country who haven’t been available to us who are on their way back,” he said. “If we can hang in there and keep digging in and fighting there is no doubt in my mind, and I’m incredibly confident that we will go on another big run soon and those four days will be forgotten.

“Sport is full of ups and downs and when you get a couple of setbacks there’s negativity and that’s natural, and when you win and do well there’s a lot of plaudits. We know the industry we’re in, but we’re not panicking at all.

We haven’t had a fantastic start to the season, but it hasn’t been a disaster. The last four days were difficult to take, but we have to take it on the chin, we have to accept responsibility, and I know that there are good times ahead.”

A real concern amidst those defeats is that Derry City have only scored two goals in their past five games, none of which have come from open play. Higgins is well aware of that fact.

“It does surprise me,” he admitted. “We’ve scored two in five games which is a not a good return. Friday night we weren’t good enough. You can use stats to your advantage or disadvantage or however you want, but if you look at stats, even though we weren’t good last Friday, the statistics were in our favour. It was the same on Monday night as well. Stats don’t win you matches, far from it, but we created more than Bohs and we had more of the ball than Bohs.

“In the moments when we are on top, we need to capitalise on it. That’s very evident and we haven’t done that in the last couple of games. It has been a bad four days and it has hurt us in the dressing room.”

McEleney injury

Of real concern to Derry City fans also was the sight of captain Patrick McEleney leaving the pitch injured in the latter stages of the game against Bohs, before leaving the Brandywell on crutches. But Higgins insists the problem is not as bad as it looked and that there is a chance the midfielder could play a part this Sunday at Oriel Park.

“We’ll see how the week progresses, but he is making progress,” he said. “Knowing the way Patrick is, if he feels in any way able to do it, he’ll do it so we’ll see how the rest of the week goes and see how it settles. He only played a half on the Friday and there was a wee bit of a flare up on Monday but it was a different type of injury, but if he feels he can help the team then he’ll play.”

Last May, Derry City went through a difficult spell which ultimately cost them any chance at the league title, but Higgins is certain that won’t happen again, and is fully backing his players to respond in the right manner.

“I’ve never been as confident in my life that there’s good times ahead,” he reiterated. “We’re missing four or five of the top players in the country and if and when we have a full quote of players to call upon, I know we can beat anybody in this league and go on a really good run.”