Stephen O’Donnell looking to positives despite Dundalk's growing injury list

Dundalk FC head coach Stephen O’Donnell has confirmed that the injured duo of Daniel Kelly and Paul Doyle will both miss the remainder of the SSE Airtricity League season.

Kelly has sat out the last eight matches as a result of a hamstring injury he sustained in the 1-1 home draw with Derry City two months ago, while Doyle suffered a recurrence of the same problem in the 3-2 FAI Cup defeat in Waterford before the international break.

Meanwhile, top goalscorer Patrick Hoban has recently travelled to the United Kingdom to have fluid drained on the calf injury which has kept him out of the last seven games.

“We’ll see how he is over the next week,” said O’Donnell. “He was getting a bit of an injection or a little bit of fluid drained. We hope (it works), but it’s not one where you come back on the plane and then you’re training straight away. It’s still going to take time.

“Daniel Kelly is out for the season and Paul Doyle is out for the season. We’ll see how the other bodies are then.”

Dundalk were dealt another injury blow in Friday night’s 2-0 win over Drogheda United at Casey’s Field, with Greg Sloggett hobbling off after 63 minutes to be replaced by Robbie Benson, leaving O’Donnell praying that the Meath native makes a swift return.

“We’re hoping it’s not too serious, but anytime there’s a little bit of a muscle, it could be a period of time. I don’t think it’s too serious, but we’ll obviously review it over the weekend and see where we’re at.

“I thought he was the tempo setter when the game was in the melting pot. I thought he looked really strong, aggressive, athletic. He won a ball probably he’d no right to win for the second goal and then drilled it across. You could say it’s his goal all bar name.

“I thought he was brilliant for the 60 minutes he was on, just from an athletic point of view. He just was a tour de force in midfield. They couldn’t handle him, his athleticism.”

Next up for The Lilywhites is a match crucial in the race for guaranteed European qualification, as they host St Patrick’s Athletic this Friday night (kick-off, 7.45pm).

“We’re focused on ourselves. Ultimately, if we win the remainder of our games, we’ll come, minimum, third. We’ll see how the bodies are.

“As I said, from an injury point of view, we’ve been very unlucky. There’s a lot of really good quality sitting in the stand watching the game as well. I’m delighted with the players that came in, and it’s going to be everyone’s shoulder to the wheel.”

Both teams have been neck and neck for a place in next season’s Europa Conference League, but Dundalk have had the upper hand over St Pats this year, with two draws at Richmond Park adding to the 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture at home back in May.

Victory in the Louth Derby last Friday extended Dundalk’s unbeaten home run this year to 16 matches in all competitions, but prior to kick-off in that game, they had dropped a total of 17 points on the road versus teams situated in the bottom half of the league table.

“It’s something we’ll need to look into without a shadow of a doubt,” admitted O’Donnell. “I think it’s something to be proud of as well, having such a good home record. Do we want to improve the other side? Of course we do.

“But again, I stress to people that this is the first year, and I don’t know if people realise where the club was at. I’m not sure if everyone does.

“I started from scratch, the players have been brilliant, and it’s a good insight as well for young players having to play with pressure at a club like Dundalk. It’s a town that’s sort of banking on the club’s results for what their mood is during the week.

“It’s a great environment to be in. It’s a high-pressure situation from a coaching point of view and a playing point of view, but you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“The flip side of that is the disappointment in the aftermath of a defeat. You feel like you’re letting down a town. The good side of it is nights like tonight when you win in a Louth derby. You enjoy the weekend knowing the town’s buzzing, and we go again next Friday.”