Collie O'Neill: 'We need to get some points, and we need to get some points quickly'

UCD manager Collie O’Neill says his side need to get points on the board quickly but stopped short of describing his side’s plight as a crisis.

The Students slipped to their seventh defeat on the bounce at home to Shamrock Rovers on Friday night, a result that leaves them bottom of the table.

Finn Harps, who UCD pipped the title last season, beat Waterford in Ballybofey to move above College for the first time this season on goal difference.

O’Neill’s side boasted an eight-point lead over the Donegal side little over three weeks ago but Harps have picked up eight points from their last four games to rein in the Students.

What looked a fairly remote possibility of UCD being dragged into the battle to avoid the one automatic relegation spot is now very much a reality.

His mood wasn’t helped any by news that midfielders Timmy Molloy, Conor Crowley and Kevin Coffey have opted to leave the club following the completion of their degrees.

“We’re behind on goal difference,” O’Neill told extratime.ie.

“It is what it is. Rovers go down there on Monday and we have Cork.

“Things change very quickly in this league and we need to get some points, and we need to get some points quickly.”

O’Neill opted to switch to three-at-the-back on Friday in an effort to stop Rovers’ dangermen in midfield, a move that, for the most part, the Louthman feels worked.

“I played three at the back with wing backs. We put four in the middle to crowd their midfielders.

“Dylan Watts, Greg Bolger, Jack Byrne, Aaron McEneff - they’re blessed with really top-class midfield talent.

“We tried to crowd that area to stop them having a good foothold on the game, and for the majority of the game it probably worked.

“At least then it became a bit more of an open game and then it was going to be down to who had the final bit of quality to finish the chances that came their way.”

UCD looked to have finally found form when they picked up three wins from five during March and April but recent performances have dropped significantly.

Their season reached a nadir when they were beaten 3-0 by Harps in Ballybofey two weeks ago but a much-improved performance at home to Rovers offers some hope.

“Again, we probably don’t have the amount of points that our performances have put in, and it’s the same old story again.

“We were playing one of the best teams in the country [in Rovers] and we ran them close towards the end.

“I’ve no complaints with the effort, the heart, the desire, the hunger, the performance – no complaints with that whatsoever.

“I think if we keep on performing like that against a lot of the other sides, eventually the points will come. No panic button yet.”

UCD face Cork City in Belfield on Monday (kick-off 7.45pm).