Will Patching reckons Shamrock Rovers remain the benchmark for title hopefuls

​Shelbourne currently lead the way in the Premier Division after a blistering start which included six consecutive league victories but Patching was never in doubt Rovers would begin to get into their rhythm after an underwhelming start.

Of course Derry City remain in second five points behind despite recording just one win in five ahead of the visit of the Rovers but Patching insists the Candy Stripes will be ready for the challenge.

"You just need to look at the past few seasons. They didn't have the best of starts last season but look how they finished.

"They always seem to be up there so we'll definitely show them all the respect they deserve but we'll be at it as well.

“It's a massive weekend for us. We know the importance of games like this against Rovers. It's almost a six pointer in a way when you play Rovers and it's this tight in the table.

"And with Pat's on Monday it's anothre big game and we know what they can do and we know they can hurt us as well.

"We'll be ready for these games and we've lads in the dressing room that are capable of putting these games to bed. Hopefully over the weekend we come out with a good points return.”

Patching has found his shooting boots in recent games with two wonderful strikes in back-to-back games and he’ll be hoping that form continues.

And he believes there’s no better showpiece for the League of Ireland than the meeting of Derry and Rovers.

”There's always hype around these big games. That's just natural but we've got to treat every game the same in this league. As we've seen any team can hurt you on the day."