Stephen Bradley credits players for maintaining fitness levels during unusual pre-season as Rovers go top

The Irish Sun

10-05-2025

STEPHEN BRADLEY admitted there were pre-season doubts that made going top of the table last night all the more pleasing.
Bradley's Shamrock Rovers moved into first place after
There are only 15 games gone, but with the joint fewest goals conceded, and the most scored, and a team with title winning knowhow, Rovers look to mean business.
But the Rovers' boss acknowledged that their European run that extended last year and forced a shorter pre-season meant he did have a small fear his team would start badly.
He said: 'Yeah, it could have easily (have gone wrong).
'You make a decision to play one game in pre-season, and most teams will play six, seven, eight or nine, it could have gone really bad.
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'But I trust the players, I trust that they show up. Whether you give them eight weeks off or three weeks off, I trust that they'll show up and are ready to go.
'That's why they are here and that's why they have been the best. But it could easily go wrong when you only play one game.
'I think we had 20-something training games. Normally we'd have eight weeks. A lot more. Easily double (the training sessions).
'We had 22 days, I think, actual training days, working days, and one game. So it could go easily wrong.
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'But something had to give and we gave up the pre-season and the games.
'That's why I'm so happy with where we are right now, because of the lack of preparation we had in pre-season.'
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Many of the Hoops' league rivals finished their season at the end of October and were back in training by the team Rovers' season ended against Chelsea on December 19.
And while the Hoops' squad did have time off in November, they then took a full break before coming back for the Conference League play-off tie with Molde.
Losing on penalties to the Norwegians hurt, but Rovers' maintained contact in the league through the opening round much to the delight of Bradley.
He added: 'I think we should have more points to be honest, but I'd take your two hands now if you said to me this is where we'd be.
'When you put everything into context, last year, a really short pre-season, one pre-season game…
'The thought process for the first round of games was just to stay there, just be there. The players have been excellent.
'The pleasing thing is we have four of the five (injured) players coming back on Monday, we know this team only gets stronger as the season goes which is important.'
Danny Mandroiu, Dan Cleary, Aaron McEneff and last year's player of the year Dylan Watts will further add to Bradley's options now as he hopes his side can keep winning.
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His side have accumulated 26 points from their 15 games
Bradley continued: 'We have got to go get maximum points and keep our foot down. That's what we'll be looking to do.
'The aim is four games (before the summer break) and win the four of them. Then we can have a few days off, come back.
'History tells you, in the second part of the season we get really strong. But we've been around this league a long time and won enough to know not to get carried away.
'Our aim now will be to push on and get better. We know we get stronger and we know the squad is getting healthier.
'The players we are in our rhythm which is really good, we just need to stay focused and lets see where that takes us.
'If you said to me in November/December when we were planning that this is where we'd be in May, I would have taken your hand off. We're there now we just need to stay focused and keep our foot down.'