Alan Reynolds has told his Bohemians players: “This season has been a marathon, but now we are in a sprint.”
With no league game in three weeks, Bohs have slipped to fourth in the table on 50 points but have played a game fewer than the two teams immediately ahead of them; Shelbourne in third on 52 points and Derry City in second on 54.
As the race for Europe that has remained congested all season nears the finish line, chasing Bohs are Drogheda United in fifth on 47 points and St Pat’s in sixth on 46; the latter have played the same number of games (32) as Reynolds’ men.
It’s a trip out west for Bohs this weekend, and Reynolds says his side are heading to Eamon Deacy Park to take on Galway United, determined to deliver a sprint finish.
Reynolds said: “At the start of the season, we were saying this was a marathon and not a sprint. But now we are very much in a sprint.
“We’ve had three weeks without a league game but we have worked extremely hard in those three weeks.
“Our players are in a very good place. That time without a game has allowed us to properly look after a few players with niggles and get a few others back up to speed.”
Bohs’ last outing in the league was on Friday September 26, which saw them lose out 2-1 to Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium.
In the meantime, they welcomed German side Schalke to Dalymount Park for a friendly last week where John Mountney scored in the last minute to secure a 3-2 victory, with Dawson Devoy and Adam McDonnell also on the scoresheet.
Reynolds added: “The Schalke friendly was a great one to have. At this stage of the season you don’t want to be going three weeks without a game so it was important that we were able to take the opportunity of the international break to have a game against a good side.
“It meant we could give some game-time to nearly everyone really, and it makes sure we’re not going into this one rusty as we want to hit the ground running.
“Again, that’s not going to be easy. Galway have beaten us this season and we had to dig deep the last time we were away to them to win it late on so we need everyone pushing themselves for every minute of the game, and we need our fans right behind us for the whole game as well.
“We all know what is needed of ourselves in the run-in ahead, and we are determined to get where we want to be.”
Team news
Bohemians are at full strength.