“WE’VE GOT A GOOD ENVIRONMENT” – GARTLAND

Brian Gartland says the Dundalk management team have given the players “responsibility and freedom” over the past month and he has commended them for “leaving it all out there on the pitch” as they look to turn their season around.

Gartland, Head of Football Operations at the club, was in the dugout alongside first-team coach Liam Burns for draws against Saint Patrick’s Athletic and Sligo Rovers, either side of a narrow late defeat by Bohemians, before the recent arrival of Noel King.

Gartland and Burns have remained as part of King’s coaching ticket for his first two games in charge, taking four points from home games against Bohs and league leaders Shelbourne, a haul which has brought them to within touching distance of Drogheda United at the bottom of the table.

Dundalk now prepare to make the short trip south to Weavers Park on Bank Holiday Monday (kick-off 1pm) as they target leapfrogging their Louth rivals into ninth, and Gartland says they must be pleased with how the last four weeks have gone.

Along with just one loss in five, the Lilywhites have put together a five-match unbeaten home run and have not conceded a goal at Oriel Park in nearly 500 minutes. The focus now is on improving their form on the road as they chase a first away win of the year, with trips to Drogheda and Waterford in the coming week.

And Gartland praised every member of the squad for the impressive attitude on show in what he stated is a “good environment”, with a collective determination to climb the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table.

“There are a few boys that have trained really well this week that hadn’t been in the squad. The attitude of the boys that haven’t got the minutes that they probably deserve and feel that they deserve has been top-class,” Gartland said after the scoreless draw with Shels on Friday night, his fifth match in the dugout.

“Even there training after the game, doing a bit, they have been excellent. It’s hard when you’re not getting in. Every one of the 20-odd that we have, have been top-class over the last few weeks. They’re leaving it all out there on the pitch.

“We’ve always said there are good players here, there’s good ability here. The players are the ones on the pitch. We’ve given them a lot of responsibility and we’ve given them freedom, and said ‘listen, you’ve got to figure out stuff on the pitch’.

“They’ve been incredible. We’ve got a good environment, a good group of people and it’s positive. We just wanted to be positive and that’s the thing. We said it the first day we were in, all we want is positivity.

“Noel is a lovely fella and it’s the same thing, he has been positive and he’s competitive. He’s saying let’s build bit by bit, let’s keep building on these performances. We’ve got to be happy with where we’ve been for the last few weeks.”

On the performance against Shelbourne…

“It was brilliant, it was resilient. We created a lot of chances, we worked their ‘keeper a few times, but maybe just a couple of feet either side and it’s different. Shels were a danger the whole time as well and I thought our boys dealt really well with it.

“We saw early on and our lads adapted. They moved their shape, tactically they were very good themselves to deal with the trouble Shels were giving us. After that, we broke well, we created chances. And then the game probably petered out a little bit.

“We’re disappointed because we didn’t take our chances. We had more shots, more crosses, more opportunities.”

On the chances created…

“Jamie (Gullan) has probably been very unlucky at the moment. He’s doing everything right. In the last three or four games, he has been unbelievable. Now, the chances are kind of falling for him, he’s getting strikes away and you can see the power and strength behind the shot.

“Like I said, either side and it would be in. You can say unlucky, but you create your own luck and you need to put those chances away.”

On the defensive strength and Andy Boyle…

“Andy has been a real leader at the back. Again, I don’t want to single out anyone, everyone has been excellent. You’re probably your most vulnerable when you’re in possession, especially in this league the way it is – the football has kind of gone out of it a little bit and it’s more direct.

“In terms of our organisation when we’re in possession, when the ball is up the other end of the pitch, our concentration levels have been phenomenal. That’s one of the biggest things in football for defenders. Not many are very good at it. We’ve been delighted with them.

“At the same time, we’re not sitting back. We’re squeezing up in the play, we’re going and bringing the game to teams at the right time. Defending comes from the front too.”

On the late save from George Shelvey…

“George has been excellent. That’s the thing as well, the concentration levels, the distribution, coming for crosses – even the ones that look easy, it’s massive, it takes pressure off you.

“We’ve done a session there, Ross’ (Munro) attitude, his ability and some of the saves he pulled off are incredible. We’ve got a handful of really good young goalkeepers, going beyond them to Seán (Molloy) and Sami (Safaei).”

On the Louth Derby…

“We know the way Drogheda play, they’re good at what they do. They’ll go for it, their fans will be up for it, the tight pitch makes it into a tight game. Everything is into a challenge, everything is into a duel for a first ball, second ball.

“I went down to Tallaght to watch them (last Monday). They’ve come off the back of a double game last weekend and now this weekend, and then the early kick-off as well. Both teams have had tough games on Friday and the kick-off time takes seven hours out of your recovery on a short turnaround as it is. Both teams will be going to the well.”

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