'It's a cup final, and we have to treat it as such' - Daire Doyle targets win over Finn Harps as Longford look to claw their way out of trouble

Daire Doyle will miss Longford's games on Friday and Monday.

Daire Doyle will miss Longford's games on Friday and Monday. Credit: Gerry Shanahan (ETPhotos)

Longford Town boss Daire Doyle has called on a large support to come out and support his side on Saturday night as they take on Finn Harps in a pivotal relegation six-pointer at Bishopsgate.

De Town come into the game winless in their last 22 league outings, and 12 points behind Harps who are directly above them in the league table.

And with that in mind, Doyle insists that his side must win against Harps should they look to claw that gap back as they look to preserve their top-flight status in remarkable fashion.

“Wins are the priority, and we are playing the two teams just above us in the league table in the next two weeks,” he told extratime.com.

“That speaks for itself. We know what we have to do, and we’ll be prepared to do that over the next fortnight with the two games, but this game is huge for us.

“It is a cup final, and we have to treat it as such. We can’t allow the gap to grow bigger and we need to look to go into this game and win it. We’ll do everything we can to do that.”

Doyle has also called upon the club’s supporters to come out in force as they take on Ollie Horgan’s side who themselves have sleepwalked into trouble.  

“We hope the whole county and club will be there to back us,” he said.

“We need everyone in there making noise and supporting us, making things difficult for the opposition coming into our ground.

“I’m very hopeful that they’ll get behind us, show up in their numbers and get behind. It’s a huge period in the club’s season.”



But in terms of team news, Longford will be without Dean Byrne and Shane Elworthy again as they both nurse injury complaints.

“Both are likely to be out again,” he added. “Shane Elworthy is looking like he will be out for three to four weeks.

“Dean Byrne is an ongoing thing. There’s been a couple of reactions to the ankle injury that he had so we’re monitoring that closely.

“He’s on a programme at the moment and it’s about strengthening that area of his foot up.

“We’ll see where he is then, but we’ll be delighted to have Dean Williams and Darragh Nugent back in the squad next week.”

    About Andrew Dempsey

    View Full Profile