Stephen Bradley: 'There's no magic wand - it'll take time'

Stephen Bradley is certain his Shamrock Rovers side are headed in the right direction - despite losing two of their opening three league fixtures.

Friday night's meeting of fourth and third saw Derry City take a 1-0 victory from Tallaght Stadium, and Bradley admitted his new squad will take time to gel and learn one another's habits.

The Hoops managed just three points from nine games against the top three clubs last season – by contrast, 10^th-place Finn Harps earned four – and won beat none of them.

And having his seen his Rovers side beaten by a Derry side who spent the last 20 minutes with 10 men, following the sending-off of Lukas Schubert, he remains confident an improvement is on the cards.

“I've said it from the start – this is a new team, a new squad, and it's going to take time,” Bradley told reporters after the final whistle on Friday night.

“They'll be fine. I know we've good characters in there. They're disappointed in there – they know that.

“We didn't do enough to win the game, but we shouldn't have lost it either. With the characters we have we'll bounce back.”

While Bradley conceded his side hadn't done enough to win the game – in fact they didn't register a single shot on target – he wasn't flush with praise for his opponents either.

“There was nothing in the game. We were flat, they were flat; we didn't create, they didn't create

“Derry are a half-decent side – they showed that last year – but I'm just worried about us and how close we can get to the top two.

“I said it from the start, it'll take time, but as the season goes you'll see us get better and better because players will get more familiar and used to each other/

“They'll understand patterns and movements, [things] they haven't had because they're a new group.”

The game hinged on Ryan McBride's 67^th-minute goal, the captain slamming home from a corner after the Hoops' familiar set-piece vulnerability returned to haunt them.

Four minutes later, Bradley's side were offered a lifeline when Derry's makeshift right-back Schubert received his marching orders for a second yellow after booting a ball after the whistle.

City boss Kenny Shiels was baffled by the decision, insisting the Austrian's momentum had taken him onto the ball and he'd crossed it a fraction after it passed the line.

Bradley had a less charitable view of the incident.

“Look, he's on a yellow card and he kicks the ball 40 yards. If the ref is reffing the game properly, it's a sending-off.

“He's saying it's harsh but if you're on a yellow card and you kick the ball away, it's very naïve. You should just leave the ball and run away.

“I know Kenny was moaning, but Kenny moans. It's a sending-off. It's a yellow card when he kicks the ball 40 yards – what do you want the ref to do? He can't ignore it.

“It's not as if he's kicked it five yards – he's kicked it behind the goal. He had to go.”

The result leaves Rovers in seventh place on three points as they prepare to visit Galway United on Monday evening.

The Tribesmen have had a difficult start to the season, losing their first game at home to Drogheda United before suffering a heavy 4-0 reverse to Cork City at Turner's Cross.

They picked up their first point of the season away at Finn Harps on Friday, but Monday's game has taken on added importance for both sides given their respective stuttering starts.

Rovers have question marks over Trevor Clarke after the full-back injured his shoulder on Friday night, but Gary Shaw and Paul Corry should be available after returning to full training.

“Galway are a decent side, but we're a good side too. We didn't enough tonight but I keep saying it, we're a good side with good characters and we'll be fine.

“In patches we're showing some really good stuff, but it's patchy. That will only come in time because they've only played together for a long period.

“That only comes when you get to know who you're playing with and what he's going to do at certain times on the pitch, when he's on the ball and when he's off the ball.

“There's no magic wand – that only comes with time.”