Shelbourne are 'like a bad smell' but Damien Duff hails players for new approach

Damien Duff praised his table-topping Shelbourne players for embracing something new in their hard-earned draw away to Derry City.

But he maintains that Shamrock Rovers and Derry are better placed for title glory because their respective budgets dwarf his.

Duff said: “For me it’s Rovers-Derry, Rovers-Derry, and I can’t emphasise that enough. Amazing squads, footballing gods and double our budget.

“Are we punching above our weight? I don’t know, but we’ve no right to be hanging around (at the top) for two months, do we? We’re probably like a bad smell.”

Sean Boyd came off the bench to stab home a 90th minute equaliser to cancel out Paul McMullen’s opener at the Brandywell last night.

The 1-1 draw ensures that Shels stay top of the table going into this Friday’s games, where they host Drogheda United at Tolka Park.

But although Shels only have one win in their last eight games, Duff was full of praise for his squad’s application and fresh approach on Monday night.

Duff said: “It was there for everyone to see that we didn’t play with a striker the first-half, playing with one lower. No striker gives you an extra body in build up.

“We wanted to keep the ball first and foremost as you have to keep the ball against the top teams like Rovers and Derry. You can’t just suck it up for 90 minutes.

“When you come here you’re usually sitting on the edge of your box and they are peppering you.

“If you have the ball, you have a chance of scoring and they don’t really. Granted we coughed it up in transition for their goal.

“But our plan was to tweak a few things after a quick turnaround Friday-Monday, give them new information and do stuff we have never done before (playing with no striker).

“It was absolutely amazing from the guys and I can’t speak highly enough of them, just brilliant.”

Shels handed Derry the lead 11 minutes into the second-half when McMullen pounced on a misplaced pass when playing out from the back.

But Duff felt super sub Boyd gave his team a fresh approach as they chased the equaliser that keeps them top of the table.

“Sean came on and we had a focal point, but without the striker we still looked threatening and broke their lines many times,” said the Reds boss.

“The final pass was lacking, but it still gave us a real foothold in the game for 60 or 65 minutes.

“We conceded so we brought Sean on and got more aggressive with two strikers and one sitting midfielder.

“It’s a game of chess and you’re always trying to evaluate. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't.”

Promoted duo Waterford and Galway United pulled off wins away to Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians yesterday.

And Duff expects the title race to remain nip and tuck from now until November.

“We put a six game winning streak together and I don’t think anyone has come close to it since and that’s for a reason, because anyone can beat anyone,” he said.

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