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The Irish Sun
06-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘We have to catch them' – Andy Mitchell sets out title challenge after Derry City close the gap on Shamrock Rovers
ANDY MITCHELL insists winning the league is Derry City's goal. The in-form Candystripes sent a warning shot to Premier Division leaders Advertisement 2 Derry City first team coach Andy Mitchell declared their goal is to win the Premier Division Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 Derry are nine points off Stephen Bradley's Shamrock Rovers having played two games fewer Credit: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile And Brandywell first-team coach Mitchell declared: 'We have got to catch them, it's as simple as that.' The rout was Derry's biggest league win since a 7-1 drubbing of UCD on Foyleside back in April 2022. Jamie McGonigle scored a hat-trick on that occasion but on Friday night it was ex-Hearts hitman Liam Boyce who grabbed his first treble for the club to take his season's tally to eight. Against the Blues, there were five different goalscorers, including star man Michael Duffy , 30, who has been pivotal to Derry's revival since the mid-season break. Advertisement Read More on Derry City The ex-Celtic winger was involved in ten of the club's 12 goals during this four-match winning run, including stunning strikes against Shelbourne and Derry sit second in the Premier Division — nine points adrift of Rovers but with two games in hand — and meet the Hoops twice before the end of the season. But with Stephen Bradley's men preparing for Europe , Mitchell is confident his side can stay in the hunt for a first league title since 1997. He said: 'We're not looking at teams around us — we're looking at Rovers and we've got to catch them. It's as simple as that. Advertisement Most read in Football 'We're not looking to see if Bohs drop points or if Pat's pick up points — or Shels or Drogheda. 'We don't really care. We came here to try and do a job — to try and win this league. Gianluigi Donnarumma bursts into tears on pitch after PSG star's challenge causes Jamal Musiala horror injury 'We've got to keep looking up and keep looking to catch Rovers. 'We've still got to play them twice so we have to keep this consistency going and hopefully when we play them we're in and around them and we go and take our chance.' Advertisement Derry were written off this season after slipping down to sixth, but Glengormley native Mitchell says their recent form is more reflective of the club's ambitions. He added: 'We didn't get the consistency, but we've managed to find it the past four games and we're working hard to try and keep this going.'
Scotsman
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scotland star set to end 551-day exile and hand Steve Clarke June boost as teammate tipped for Rangers move
The Scotland international is in line to make his return to first team football after a 551-day absence. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland full-back Aaron Hickey is on the verge of returning to first-team action after almost 18-months on the sidelines, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed. A £17million signing for Brentford back in 2022, the ex-Hearts youngster has endured a nightmare spell with injury after picking up a hamstring injury in a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October 2023, which kept him out of Scotland squad for last year's European Championships in Germany. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After being expected to miss just a few months with the injury originally, he was dealt a major blow just weeks into his rehab, when he was forced to undergo further surgery to fully repair the tendon in his hamstring in August 2024. The 22-year-old recently signed a new three-year contract at the Gtech Community Stadium, and has been cautiously stepping up his comeback in recent weeks though, featuring for the Bees B team alongside fellow injury victim Thiago. However, he is now closing in on a return to English Premier League action, with hope renewed that he could be available for Scotland's friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein next month. Will Greg Taylor wave goodbye to Celtic this summer? | Getty Images 'Hickey and Thiago are both training fully with the team now,' said Frank. 'They have done that for the last couple of trainings. They won't be ready for Nottingham Forest [on Thursday 1 May], but it's very positive. Everyone is available from the last game. Fingers crossed for that. When they are training fully with the team, they are definitely close. How close, we will see over the next one to two weeks.' Meanwhile, one of Hickey's international teammates has been linked with an eye-catching summer transfer after ex-Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday backed a controversial move for Celtic left-back Greg Taylor to Rangers this summer. The Scotland international is out of contract at the end of the season, and has been loosely linked with a move to Ibrox as his time at Celtic Park seemingly draws to a close. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Speaking on the OpenGoal podcast, Halliday - who currently plays for Motherwell - discussed the potential of Taylor making the move across the city, while he also urged Rangers to have a look at another top performing Scottish Premiership full-back in order to strengthen their defensive options. 'I still think they should sign somebody else,' Halliday said. 'I would take James Penrice [from Hearts]. I think he is better than the left-backs they've got, I don't think Penrice gets in above Greg Taylor, though. I think from Rangers' point of view, and I know it's hard because you're signing unknowns, you're signing players that have never played in the league. If you want to catch Celtic you need to buy players that are better than Celtic's players, though.
