Skonto defeat would signal disaster!
DERRY CITY Football Club flew out to Latvia this morning with a grim warning that defeat against Skonto Riga over boths legs of the Europa League tie, will result in the Brandywell club failing to meet its financial commitments for the end of the season.
The stark warning, which has come on the back of the withdrawal of vital shirt sponsorship, plus the uncertainty of the Setanta Sports Cup competition next month, has had a major impact on Derry's finances and now, it appears that it will be up to the playing staff to secure their wages by progressing to the next round of the competition!
The news, which was highlighted by Derry City boss, Stephen Kenny, when I interviewed him yesterday will, no doubt, fashion fear among the Brandywell Faithful but following the sudden resignation of the club's general manager, Noel Martin, last week Kenny was forced to inform his playing staff of the reality of the situation.
A squad of 19 players left this morning not including the trio of Kevin Deery (calf), Liam Kearney (fractured leg) and Mark McChrystal (fractured cheek bone) but both Barry Molloy and Steven Gray were on the plane having been passed fit.
However, while Gerard Doherty (hand) and Clive Delaney (calf) also travelled, both are carrying injuries and their fitness will be assessed closer to Thursday night's kick-off. (6.45 p.m. Irish time).
But it was Kenny's assessment of the financial situation which will certainly raise quite a few eyebrows.
"We need to win the game for quite a few reasons," he said. "First and foremost, so that the club can facilitate its financial obligations until the end of the season. Failure to win the game could cause us major problems, particularly in relation to the payment of wages for the remainder of the current campaign," he added.
"The players did really well to qualify for Europe last season having finished seventh the season before. We then lost some of our best players and had to bring in new recruits last year, but we managed to qualify for Europe which was the objective and we did that in addition to reaching two cup finals.
"Qualifying for Europe is the pinnacle in any player's career as the player is representing his family; he's representing his club and the tradition of Derry City; the city itself and, indeed, the players will be representing Ireland in European football and I think that's a tremendous honour. Therefore, we must grasp at that and relish the challenge," continued the Derry boss.
Financial Worries
But he also had his worries in relation to the financial situation given recent events this season.
"It's been well documented that the club had been experiencing difficulties with our major sponsor having gone into liquidation plus the withdrawal of a secondary club sponsor. The uncertainty which hovers over the Setanta Sports Cup has not helped either and I have been informed that the European game now takes on a greater significance and that's a situation I had to deal with last Thursday.
"There's a sum of E90,000 for winning the game and, not only that, it's possible that Derry could get a team we could possibly defeat again and receive a further E90,000, not to mention another home gate. The other side is a draw against teams such as Lazio, Roma or Fulham where television money can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
So the incentive for the club is huge and we have to accept the fact that our best way of raising finance is through winning prizemony which, it must be said, can be highly significant in the European arena," maintained the Dubliner.
"I have also been informed that the club will stuggle to fulfil its financial commitments over the remainder of the season if we were to lose our game against Skonto Riga.
"Last Wednesday, the resignation of the club's general manager, Noel Martin, shocked the playing staff. The players were very concerned with that news and they began to ask questions. Noel was a friend to them and if Noel was leaving, it gave them the impression that the financial situation was deteriorating at the club. His sudden resignation, with no replacement, suggested to the players that the development was due to financial difficulties which did not look like getting any better.
"I had to address that problem, so I took the players for breakfast last Thursday morning and informed them of the situation. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to do before the game on Friday. Now, looking back, it probably wasn't the best decision I ever made but sometimes you have to be honest with people who have been asking what is going on," claimed Kenny.
"In short, to solve our financial problems we have to win the game over the two legs. The players are concerned. Some have new-born children, new mortgages, which is a real life situation. There was concern from the playing staff and I had to deal with that."
Presented with challenge
Kenny went on: "However, having said all that, sometimes in life you are presented with a challenge and you have to respond to it rather than fear it. We're travelling to Riga who have won their last five games and are one point off the top of their league. "They've had the experience of playing big games in Europe in the past having played against Chelsea and Barcelona - maybe not this group of players - but the club has a young panel with a number of Latvian internationals who are experienced at European level.
"They have sold one of their strikers to Maccabi Haifa in recent weeks for E300,000 which is also significant. But I don't think we can be fearful. We will not be set-up just to contain and defend on Thursday night, I don't think you can do that. Life is too short, you can't sit and wait and hope that something will happen. We need to get a stranglehold on the game and try to score an away goal.
"Skonto are also in mid-season and their objective is to make their mark in Europe. Their manager, Paul Ashworth, is an Englishman who had done his Pro-Licence under the FAI, so he has plenty spies on us. He's said he's watched our last five games, so he's been busy talking to many of the other managers in the league who were actually on the same Pro-Licence course.
"They will know us well and be familiar with our players, but we've got to go there, do our best and make sure that when we come back to the Brandywell on Thursday week, there's a match to play and we still have a chance of progressing to the next round."
Can Derry City win the tie?
"Anything is possible, we must strive to get through the round because so much depends on it. But, as I've said, we must not be fearful and believe in ourselves. Skonto will feel confident, but we must believe in our own ability and do all in our power to secure a favourable result in Lativa," answered the Brandywell boss.
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Weather for Derry
Friday 25 May 2012
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