Dundalk boss recognises “it’s a big task” to avoid the drop

Jon Daly says Dundalk FC must win all four of their remaining games – and even that might not be enough to keep the club in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

A 2-0 defeat to Bohemians at Oriel Park last Friday night means The Lilywhites have now gone nine matches without a win in all competitions, a sequence which stretches back to July when they last tasted victory in a 4-2 win over neighbours Drogheda United.

Drogheda beating Derry City 2-1 means eight points separate the Louth rivals with only four games left to play in the battle to avoid an automatic relegation to the First Division.

“It’s not mathematically certain, but it’s a big, big task,” admitted Dundalk manager Daly. “We probably need to win our last four games, if we’re being honest, to give ourselves the best chance, and then even with that, you’re not guaranteed, but we’ll keep working hard and trying to fight and do our best to get the points on the board.

“We’ve had an opportunity to get three points (versus Bohemians) and we’ve come up short. We’ve had some good opportunities in the game that we’ve not taken.

“It seems to be the story of the season for the club and the team that we’ve had opportunities over the course of games and we’ve not taken them, and then being punished for little things that we haven’t executed properly in the defensive side.”

Failure to beat Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park tonight (kick-off, 7.45pm) could mathematically confirm bottom-of-the-table Dundalk’s relegation, but only if in-form Drogheda overcome Waterford at The RSC the following week.

At the very least, three wins from their last four matches are required to have any chance of staying up – a tall order for a team that has won just five from 32 fixtures in 2024.

“I recognise the fact that it’s going to be really tough,” said Daly. “Drogheda are in good form, there’s no shying away from that. They’ve got a semi-final next week to get to a Cup final.

“They’re one of the in-form teams at the moment and we haven’t won in a while. We’re needing to go and win the next three or four to really give ourselves any kind of chance, and even with that, it’s not certain. It’s out of our hands, but I’m certainly not somebody that’s going to not fight and the players will certainly fight till the end.

“They owe it to the fans, to the club, to continue to do that and we will do that. It’s important that we try and close the gap as quickly as possible.

“We’ve got a game next week in the league, Drogheda are in the cup, so that’s an opportunity to try and close it down to five and then ask questions of them to go and get that next win for them.”

While Friday’s game in Galway will be Daly’s 18th in charge of Dundalk, his first at the same venue at the end of May seems a lifetime ago in what has been a whirlwind four months in the Oriel dugout for the former Hearts and St Patrick’s Athletic manager.

Off-field problems, culminating with revelations of substantial debts as well as unpaid wages, resulted in ex-owner Brian Ainscough relinquishing his 80% stake to local barrister John Temple a fortnight ago, as the club remains embroiled in a financial crisis.

Adding to that, Daly referenced a considerable turnover of players, which has seen 10 new arrivals and nine departures since he succeeded Noel King in the Dundalk hotseat.

“It’s been really tough,” explained the 41-year-old. “It’s not what I expected it to be in terms of everything off the pitch and stuff, but it’s a fantastic club with good people and there’s a good group of players there, it’s just probably lacking a little bit of depth.

“When I first came in, I didn’t anticipate and wasn’t aware of the turnover of players that was going to happen. That wasn’t pre-empted or something that I had anticipated.

“I was quite happy with the squad, but loan players going back and then other players wanting to leave makes that job a little bit more difficult to try and recruit and bring in so many.

“It’s certainly learning from my part when speaking to owners and speaking to people about potential jobs. What I’ve learned from this is there’s certain questions that you should be asking before jumping in, but I’ve loved my time here, the town, the people.

“I’m just obviously disappointed where we’re at just now,” he concluded. “We haven’t managed to secure our safety and it’s a very, very difficult job now to do so.”