We're all really positive about keeping Limerick in the league - Lynch

Hometown midfielder Lee-J Lynch says the team are “all really positive about keeping Limerick in the league”, while admitting that a failure to keep the club in the Premier Division “would be a disaster”.

The 23-year-old signed for the Shannonsiders during the July transfer window, for the second season running, and after getting back to his best has helped transform their fortunes.

The former West Bromwich Albion youngster has been a key figure in Limerick’s recent resurgence, with an unbeaten August bringing them to within four points of a pack of three teams at the bottom of the table.

Lynch felt that his side “threw away” the only two points dropped in their last five outings, which came in a home draw with Longford Town where they led twice.

Now, they head into September where they face two of the top four, Saint Patrick’s Athletic (5 September, 6.30pm) and Dundalk (26 September, 6.30pm) at home, either side of a trip to Bray Wanderers (19 September, 5.45pm).

Lynch has praised the support which the Blues have received in the Markets Field – almost 2,000 people turning out for their Monday clash with Longford – and he feels it “would get bigger” if they can retain their top-flight status.

“It has taken a while. When I signed, in the first week or two I wasn’t match-fit. I knew that would take a while, as did Martin and the boys,” Lee-J told LimerickFC.ie.

“We’ve all just clicked really well. We’re all working hard, we’re feeling very good and sharp, and in the past five games we’ve won four and drawn one. The one was Longford, which we threw away.

“It’s great that we have given ourselves an opportunity to stay in the league, because for Limerick to go down would be a disaster. We’re all really positive about keeping the club in the league.

“We’re taking it game-by-game. We’re going to try to make sure that we stay safe. The crowds coming into the Markets Field is great to see, and if we did stay safe I think we could really push on next year.

“If the squad is really developed and we bring in a few key players – you could push for the top half of the table and just see how it goes. The crowds would get bigger and it would be great to see.

“For a team at the bottom of the table, you wouldn’t really expect big crowds. I think the whole city has got behind the team and people who wouldn’t have really followed local soccer are now all involved and they’re fascinated by it.

“The team are bottom now but we’re only four points off three teams ahead of us. It’s all there for us to play for, as we can get safe and then I think it will really be an exciting off-season.

“If the first team was developed well and brought in a few key players, and kept the bulk of the squad, the fans would really be excited about the start of next season because you would like to think that we could push for the top half of the table.

“You get a lot of people in town stopping me and the other lads saying ‘well done, keep it going, it’s great that you’re doing a good job and you’ve brought the fight back’. It’s great to hear that.

“You want to see Limerick competing at the top of the League of Ireland. It’s just not happened this year, but the club need to be in the Premier Division and we need to make sure that we stay in the Premier Division. It’s great to see that all the fans have got behind us, and we’ll just wait and see what happens.”