'We will bounce back' - Derry City's Mark Connolly

Mark Connolly admits that he and his team mates are going to have to answer some big questions if they are to bounce back from a disastrous end to the season which saw Derry City finish empty-handed.

Just a few weeks ago, the Candystripes had their own fate in their hands, knowing a win at St. Patrick's Athletic would put one hand on a first league title in 27 years. But what could have been an historically successful season became a season to be forgotten as Derry City lost their final three games without scoring a single goal, which included Sunday's FAI Cup final against Drogheda United at the Aviva Stadium.

“It’s been a whole season, deflating, it’s extremely hard to take, you’re sort of within touching distance of winning a double and you’re coming away with nothing, it’s a hard one to take," Connolly admitted.

“As football players and professionals, you can either shy away from it and let it affect you or get ready to go again next season.

“I’ve had enough throughout my career of highs and lows and how you deal with them. You can shrivel up and go under a rock and let it affect you, or you can come out stronger and hopefully put things right.

Sunday's performance was unfortunately one in keeping with the past few months, with City too slow, ponderous and predictable, lacking any real attacking threat.

"We’re on the wrong end of the scoreline and that’s disappointing," Connolly continued. "I think when you look at it and you get into moments…we didn’t do enough.

“It’s hard to take, it’s a Cup final that we’ve lost. There is one winner and one loser and we were the loser today. We didn't do enough to win the game. They were in a good shape and we didn't do enough to break them down. If you don't so that, you don't win games, and unfortunately we huffed and puffed. As a player it's extremely disappointing.

"I stood here two years ago, full of joy and happiness, and this time is the other end of the scale. It's extremely disappointing and it's a bitter one to take but we're going to have to take that on the chin and move on."

There will be an inquest, not just this week, but over the next few weeks as Ruaidhri Higgins, his staff and the players reflect on what exactly went wrong. Inconsistency plagued the Candystripes throughout 2024, and with a number of players also set to leave the club due to their contracts expiring, it could be a painful adjustment at the club as it plans ahead for the 2025 campaign. Connolly though believes that the players who remain are more than capable of bouncing back.

“You’re either going to be on top of the world and full of joy or the bottom of it, unfortunately that is where we are," he acknowledged.

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“Obviously people are going to come out and be disappointed with how it ended but we are taking it very hard but we need to stay strong, regroup and go again. There are big players who have won leagues and won cups and played in big games.

“We’ll see come pre-season where boys are and where we’re at, we need to come back strong, questions are going to be asked and we’ve got to stand up to it.”