Damien Duff hails Keane-like instincts of match winner Aiden O'Brien as Shels regain top spot
"Nobody, none of you guys (the media), none of the experts, the critics expect us to be here or anywhere near. Did we? We always back ourselves"
Damien Duff hailed the Robbie Keane-like nature of Aiden O'Brien's strike that fired Shelbourne back to the top of the Premier Division.
The Reds were leapfrogged by Derry City last week but, on Friday night, the Candystripes lost at Galway and O'Brien's winner at Dundalk for Shels flipped their positions again.
Duff hailed the fighting qualities of his side as he confided he has set a points total for his players that should put them in the mix for title glory.
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"It's incredible," said the Shels boss. "Nobody, none of you guys (the media), none of the experts, the critics expect us to be here or anywhere near. Did we? We always back ourselves. We had a points total. Have we hit it yet? No. But we plan on hitting it.
"We thought with that points total you would be there or thereabouts. But let's be loud and clear here, because of people not expecting us to be here, there is absolutely zero pressure on us.
"The only pressure on us is what we put on each other internally, which is what we've done from day dot two and a half years ago. Outside of that the guys just go and have fun and enjoy it, because pressure? There's none on us.
"I'm a stubborn guy. I don't like to go away, I like to just work hard and coach and train every day. Everyone has probably gone home happy tonight, they were probably down in the dumps last week but I didn't get carried away.
"We were second. So what? We're first now. So what?"
Five times-capped Ireland striker O'Brien's close range fourth minute goal was enough to earn Shels victory at Oriel Park. Duff said: "Aido's position, you can't coach that, it's the Robbie Keane stuff, just smelling it, 'OK, where's the ball going to drop?'.
"So I thought the goal was absolutely brilliant. You might just think it's a tap-in but there is a lot more to it, and it's stuff you can't coach.
"It's probably an under-8 team-talk at times - smelling, being on your toes, where the ball is going to drop, because it's all about being calm in the chaos at Oriel Park, because it's a horrible pitch.
"That's Aido, he's such a wonderful football brain. You see it every day in training and it's brilliant. But he's a man and he has brought real personality and presence as well, something that before you even talk about quality we wanted to bring in, so he has brought so, so much. Most importantly, he scored the winner."
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