Stuart Byrne column: Tough as it will be, Shamrock Rovers must forget the 'free hit' and go for the knockout
League of Ireland legend and Mirror Sport columnist Stuart Byrne has the final word every Friday
I don’t want to hear any more talk of Shamrock Rovers having a “free hit” against Sparta Prague next week. That’s defeatist language, belonging to a bygone era.
The last League of Ireland side to reach the Champions League third qualifying round was my Shelbourne team in 2004. That’s 20 years ago! It’s a pretty damning indictment of Irish football that nobody has matched or bettered it.
It’s not a record that I - or any of my team-mates - are clinging to in the hope we stay in the history books. Far from it. It should have been broken by now and I hope it’s an ambition of this Rovers side when they host the Czechs on Tuesday.
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Teams that adopt a ‘let’s see how it goes’ approach may as well wave the white flag because they’ve already conceded. The game is over before it has started.
Sparta will be a good side. They reached the Last 16 of the Europa League this year, and were knocked out by Liverpool. But there’s a danger of Rovers bigging them up too much. Sparta are still in pre-season and that counts for something.
If Rovers can get through this round, it’s verging on lottery win territory so I’d love Stephen Bradley to ban talk of safety nets into the Europa League third round, and the Conference League playoffs after that. Again, it’s defeatist talk.
Meet this Sparta challenge head on, knowing victory over two legs will guarantee Conference League group stages no matter what.
Of course Rovers are big underdogs but you only have to look at the recent European Championships to see that smaller teams can rise to the challenge and have their day.
Bradley and his players have been here before and I’ve no doubt behind the scenes there will be no talk of ‘free hits’.
When Rovers did reach the group stages a couple of years ago, they had a strange approach to games. It was clear that Bradley was prioritising the league.
After all, you only get to negotiate the all-important champions route by winning your domestic title. But Rovers have learned lessons from their European experiences and you could see it against Vikingur on Tuesday.
They abandoned their mad European approach of playing out from the back - especially away from home - and getting caught.
They were far more pragmatic against Vikingur. Subtle tweaks, but they set out their stall and were harder to beat because that exit to Breidablik really hurt last year.
It looks like they want to be tough to crack in Europe this year, first and foremost, and take it from there. If so, it’s the right approach.
Their FAI Cup clash with Bohemians tonight is the immediate focus, and Bradley will also still believe they can force the issue in the league. I think they will get closer and closer to the leaders, but still fancy Shels or Derry to hold them off.
But Rovers have nothing to fear in Europe. They negotiated that all-important first-hurdle and must embrace the challenge - and the bigger the better.
Let there be no more talk of fallback options into other competitions. This is the Champions League and if their approach is right, they can throw the kitchen sink at Sparta Prague next Tuesday.
A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR MOST
This is the busiest summer transfer window I can remember.
Dawson Devoy’s return to Bohemians made headlines this week, as did Ireland international Greg Cunningham returning home to join Galway United.
With the buzz around the league and the bump in attendances, there’s a few extra quid in the coffers. And the transfer wheel has been on a whirl since the window opened.
Most clubs have added three, four or even five players - with the exception of Shamrock Rovers and Derry City. I think Shels have done the best business with Ali Coote, Harry Wood, Sam Bone and Rayhaan Tulloch.
They had a tight squad and to get to the summit - and stay there - was a remarkable achievement. But we’re heading into the business end of the season, and they neeed a bit more quality and I think they’ve got it.
I’ve always been a big believer in balance in a football team. It has to be right and it will be interesting to see if those players fit into the mix.
Competition for places can give new energy to a side. Or does the patient, leave-things-alone approach adopted by Rovers and Derry make more sense?
Get the popcorn out.
LIFETIME BANS ARE REQUIRED
I’m not a fan of stadium bans so I’m glad the Drogheda-Dundalk Cup match goes ahead tonight with fans in the ground.
But the scenes at Oriel Park last week were an utter disgrace, with a large number of Drogheda supporters racing to fight with Dundalk fans at the final whistle.
We’ve often heard claims in the past that ultras from foreign clubs travelled to Ireland for certain fixtures to either spark or join in the mayhem.
I’m aware that theory has been floated again regarding last week’s events, but only the FAI and Gardai can say for sure.
My old club Drogheda dished out “indefinite” bans to some fans during the week. That’s awful wishy-washy stuff and they’ll probably be back at matches in no time.
Ban them for life, if you’re actually serious about it because clubs - who will be heavily fined over this - are the ones who need to come down hard.
If you go to a football match just to punch the head off people, you’re nothing but a clown and have no business being there again.
These idiots were all over social media as there were numerous videos of the scrap. Caught red handed, and incriminating themselves in the process.
Not the sharpest tools in the box, are they? But it stacks up.
Hopefully tonight’s Cup game in Drogheda passes off peacefully. Security will be heightened, but a stadium ban wasn’t the answer either.
PAUSE, AND RESET
I’ve said before that I’m not a great man for holidays. Three or four days is enough for me. But I’m rethinking my need for a pause, as I’m feeling a bit highly strung of late.
You know the clips of those 90s ravers that keep popping up on social media? I’m a bit like that. The jaw’s under control and the top hasn’t come off. My arms are by my side, not flailing around in a frenzy.
But that almost haunted and strained, wide-eyed facial expression has become part of my makeup. The lads and gals in those clips look like feral animals. Is this happening to me? Jesus, maybe I do need a break.
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