Sligo Rovers manager, Don O’Riordan, has targeted
three new players as he attempts to strengthen his
squad in advance of Sunday’s showdown with Cobh
Ramblers at the Showgrounds.<br><br>The manager declined
to name the players but said he was hopeful of
concluding negotiations with at least two of them before the
week-end.<br><br>Rovers have battled their way to the top of the Eircom
league first division with the youngest squad in the
country and O’Riordan is anxious to bring in some
experienced players to help the young lads along.<br><br>The
manager was delighted with the side’s performance against
Limerick last week, despite the fact that they had to
settle for a share of the spoils.<br><br>“I felt we
deserved to win the game but, unfortunately, we came up
against an inspired goalkeeper for the second home game
in a row”, he said.<br><br>“Given the number of
chances we created, it was disappointing not to win but I
couldn’t fault the lads for the way they
played.<br><br>“They were very positive throughout, played a lot of
good attacking football and it was a good all round
team performance. Once again, the young lads worked
very hard but there was a lot of quality in their play
as well.<br><br>“If we keep playing as well as that,
the goals will come because we’re not going to come
up against an inspired keeper every week”, O’Riordan
added.<br><br>He said he was particularly pleased with the
character the team showed in bouncing back from a first
half penalty miss.<br><br>“The penalty miss could have
drained the team’s confidence but, in fairness to the
lads, they responded very well and continued to control
the game.<br><br>“This was epitomised by Sean
Flannery. He was desperately disappointed not to score from
the penalty but he didn’t let it effect his game. He
kept battling away and led the attack superbly. He had
a cracking effort near the end which bore all the
hallmarks of a top class player. If a player in the
Premiership produced something like that, they would never
stop showing it on television”, O’Riordan
maintained.<br><br>Rovers have emerged as the surprise team of the early
part of the season but O’Riordan is not getting
carried away.<br><br>“We’re delighted with the start
we’ve made but we realise there’s a long way to go and
a lot of hard work to get through.<br><br>“The lads
deserve great credit for the way they have applied
themselves since the start of the season. What has impressed
me most is the togetherness in the squad. They are
all working for each other and the atmosphere in the
dressing room is fantastic. Once you have that at a club,
there is always something to build on”, he
said.<br><br>Rovers hope to have Johnny Morris Burke and Owen
O’Donoghue back for Sunday’s clash with Cobh but teenage
midfielder, John Gaffney, is a doubtful starter after
sustaining a hip injury against Limerick last week