Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley delivers stark European warning ahead of group stage campaign
The Hoops boss fears Irish clubs will be left behind unless the League of Ireland becomes a bigger and better brand
Stephen Bradley fears Irish clubs will be left behind in Europe if the League of Ireland doesn't become a bigger brand.
The Shamrock Rovers boss is celebrating after securing group stage football for the second time in three years - and the club’s third time in total.
The Hoops beat Slovenian champions NK Celje on Thursday to advance to a Europa League playoff against Greek giants PAOK next week.
READ MORE: Stephen Bradley slams ex-Liverpool star's 'complete arrogance' as Shamrock Rovers advance in Europe
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The winner of that two-legged tie will qualify for the Europa League groups, but the loser has the consolation of dropping into the Conference League groups.
And Rovers’ achievement is all the more impressive considering Celke’s annual budget of €6m is at least three times that of Rovers.
Sparta Prague, who Rovers put it up to in the Champions League in the round before that, operate off a €30m budget.
That’s money Irish clubs can only dream of. But Bradley points to the lack of any TV revenue and the abysmal prize money here as reasons why the game is so far behind.
And all of this in a week where Guinness, one of the biggest Irish companies in the world, has stumped up millions to sponsor the English Premier League.
Bradley said: “We need to build a brand to make ourselves appealing to these companies, multinational companies and especially Irish companies.
“But that's part of the reason why as a domestic league we don't go to the groups every year.
“We are yo-yoing between budgets and if you do well, you can spend and if you don't, you're back down.
“You look at the budgets of Sparta and Celje - that's what we should be aiming for.
“I'm not saying it's going to happen overnight but if we're serious about improving domestic football, we need to push the bar and strive to get better.
“We play teams and then we play them again two or three years later and their budget is double and we're still the same, or less.
“And people say why can't you beat them and do this and that. But they have actually moved the bar and we haven't.”
Bradley continued: “I'm not having a go at the club here. My budget is really good and this club has been brilliant for me.
“As a league, we definitely need help if we want to keep producing nights like this on a regular basis and keep the trend.
“You look at the Scandinavian clubs and they are only getting stronger and better, bigger budgets.
“Albanian football has had big investment, Malta is starting to get investment, it's only going one way.
“And if we don't go with them, we'll be wondering in 10 years why we're not qualifying and why these are all ahead of us.”
While Bradley will relish the big European campaign ahead, he feels Irish football is only kicking the can down the road by standing still.
“It’s madness if we think we can get through while these countries are all increasing stadiums, training facilities, budgets, academies and we stay the same,” he said.
“And then we'll have a go at the Irish national team for not qualifying. It's back to basics and understanding what feeds it.
“What's feeding our young players now? Our academies. But they're not funded and we have very few full time staff.
“If we're serious about closing the gap, staying with the trend and keep moving forward, we need investment as a league as a whole.”
The FAI remains in talks with the Government over funding for Irish football and particularly those academy setups.
But Bradley has painted a bleak picture of the consequences if immediate action is not taken to bring the game to new levels.
“You're not going to have the league in a better place with young managers, young players and academies are our responsibility now,” he added.
“I hope (Ireland) do qualify for the next international tournament but if we don't, it'll be doom and gloom and 'oh, what's wrong'.
“It's back to basics. The national team is our pinnacle and it will look after itself if we look after the foundations.”
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Stephen Bradley wants Shamrock Rovers to play their group stage matches at Tallaght Stadium rather than Aviva Stadium.
The Hoops are guaranteed at least the Europa Conference League group stages - and a minimum €3.87m payday - after beating Slovenian champions Celje on Thursday.
But they are still in the Europa League proper and will qualify for those groups if they win their playoff with Greek giants PAOK over the next two weeks.
The group stage draw for both competitions is on Friday, August 30 and that’s when Rovers will discover their opponents.
The Europa League groups begin on September 25 and run to January 30, before going into the knockout phase.
And the Conference League starts a week later and finishes just before Christmas, before the knockout phase begins in February.
Rovers played all their home games at Tallaght Stadium for their 2022 and 2011 group adventures and Bradley said: “I would love it here in Tallaght.
“If the board came to me and said the Aviva is the way to go for financial reasons, no problem. You have to understand that.
“At the end of the day they are the ones running the club and know what's best financially. If I had my way, it would be here as I think those fans deserve it.
“You can create that demand for tickets and people will want to come. And hopefully off the back of that you get an extra 1000 bums on seats for your domestic games.”
Whether it’s the Europa League or Conference League groups, Rovers season has been extended to at least December.
And that will bring considerable challenges considering the traditional Irish season finishes with the FAI Cup final in November.
But Bradley said: “That's what we want. It’s going to be a challenge in how we get the load right and get ready for next season. It will all be a challenge.
“But the most enjoyable part for me has been the challenges of testing yourselves against good teams, managers and coaches, different systems and ways of playing.
“That will just be another layer on to that. This was one of our big objectives and we have achieved it to a point, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
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