O'Neill calm ahead of Tallinn tie

They say the more things change, the more they stay the same. This is true in the case of Shamrock Rovers. This time last year, the club was preparing for a difficult home leg tie against Israeli side Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv.

Twelve months on and Michael O’ Neill finds himself once again squaring up to relatively unknown opposition, this time in the shape of Flora Tallinn. However unlike last year’s Europa League encounter, the fact that this is a Champions League qualifier means the stakes have been raised considerably this time around.

In another throwback to last year, preparation for this encounter has been far from ideal with a hectic league and cup scheduling dominating the run up to this game. However O‘Neill was keen to play this down as something which could cause problems for his side.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday he said: “Our focus until Friday night was on Derry and the players needed a break after that game so we only really started to focus on this game from yesterday onwards.

“The players will train tonight [Monday] at the stadium. That’s the preparation that time has afforded us in relation to the game. It was probably the same type of preparation we had last year so it’s no major issue for us.”

Having been tipped as pre-season favourites to retain the league title, the Tallaght side find themselves in second place after defeats to Derry City last week and current league leaders Sligo Rovers at the end of last month. While it could be argued the timing of this crunch Euro tie could be better, O’Neill does not believe recent form is a cause for concern.

“We sit one point off the top of the table, despite the ‘crisis’ we’re in at the minute. We have won the Setanta Cup; we are the defending league champions so we’re happy with how things are at the minute”

A lot of intrigue has surrounded the sudden departure of Rovers’ assistant manager Trevor Croly at the start of the month. O’ Neill was keen to play down any rumours of rifts within the team. He said: “I think a lot of the stuff that has been written recently has not come from within the club. People come and go in football all the time.

“I don’t think we come into this game low on confidence or anything like that. We’ve led the league basically since the first game of the season and we sit a point of the top so it’s far from a situation which is spiralling out of control.”

Information on their Estonian opponents has been at a premium since Flora Talinn are currently in the off-season. However former Drogheda United player Shane Robinson, currently with FC Haka in Finland, has done some scouting work for the club and believes O’ Neill’s side are more than capable of progressing to the second stage of qualifier for the Champions League.

Rovers are also aided by a near full strength squad for the encounter with only Karl Sheppard ruled out through injury.

Michael O’ Neill appeared very much a man calm and confident and, by his omission, someone who has learned from previous forays in Europe’s early stages: “I certainly believe, and I know the players believe, they are capable of going through this tie. Last year we played against Juventus and we lost a goal very early on. It unsettled us and took us 25 minutes to recover.

“We will try to win the game but the result is over two legs and it’s important you always consider the second leg in how you approach the first.”