'Bittersweet' for Tiernan Lynch in Drogheda as Derry fans unleash online fury

​The Brandywell boss earned a reprieve from mounting pressure and calls for his head by guiding his under-performing charges to back-to-back wins over Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers last month.

However, two points from nine against Bohemians (1-1), Galway United (1-1), and Drogheda has fueled fresh anger from the terraces, as the elation from those big wins at Tolka Park and Celtic Park fades into a distant memory.

Lynch was prepared to receive both barrels from critics after Friday's loss as his team has now lost more games [5] than they've won [4] after 16 played.

The Candy Stripes have worryingly won just twice in their last 12 fixtures and are 15 points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers.

Realistically Derry should be more concerned about being three points from the relegation play-off spot now, given those pre-season title expectations were evidently embarrassingly optimistic.

Lynch's pre-match talk of encouraging xGs and box entries was mocked by supporters online as the fanbase clearly has lost faith in the manager and the direction he's taking the team.

"Pull the trigger Philip [O’Doherty], for crying out loud," was one remark on the club Facebook page after the game. "Time this circus was brought to an end," read another.

Another disgruntled fan wrote: "40 seasons of being a fan. I'm struggling for the first time in my life.”

"Awful watch. No urgency and starts with no recognised striker, a recipe for disaster," said another while there were numerous comments of the almost 200 on the post calling for a change of management.

The comparatively short two-and-a-half-hour journey to Drogheda normally attracts a large travelling support but, just like Bohemians the week before, there was a paltry attendance from the visitors - an estimated 50 or 60 fans made the trip to Sullivan and Lambe Park.

Lynch's team started well in Drogheda but it's the same old story: conceding too easily and lacking creativity and penetration at the other end. Lynch risked alienating City support even further by adopting his 'glass half-full' approach afterwards.

"I thought it was probably the best we’ve played believe it or not,” he said. “We just lacked a cutting edge. We have to take it on the chin.

"We haven’t been beaten in a while and the manner we’ve been beaten stung a bit but we have to take that and move on.

"It's a bittersweet evening. We're harping on to [the players] about this identity and getting on the ball and playing. I thought it was very hard to be critical of them but I know the result is what everyone is going to look at.

"I know everyone will be hugely disappointed in the result and ultimately it's a results-based industry, so we get that. I thought there were lots of really good things tonight.

"We have to take the positives. I know that's probably really difficult for supporters because we lost and that's what they will look at but from a players' perspective and team perspective we've got to pick the positives and work really hard on putting the ball in the back of the net."

It's not just the results that have angered supporters. Lynch hasn't settled on a starting 11 or even a set formation and fans have voiced concerns about the lack of clear structure, game plan, or consistency. Lynch has named the same team for consecutive matches only once this season.

On this occasion it was the end of a three-match week and several players are cautiously returning after long layoffs forcing a reshuffle.

Lynch made FIVE changes from the team held by Galway on Monday night when he played five at the back. He made THREE changes on Monday from the 1-1 draw at Bohemians.

He reverted to a four-man defence in Drogheda, playing James Clarke as a false No. 9 with Michael Duffy and Kevin dos Santos on either wing. While Derry dominated possession in the opening half they were toothless.

When Ryan Brennan fired into the roof of the net from the penalty spot at 55 minutes Lynch waited 16 minutes before making a triple substitution. He brought off Duffy who was clearly unhappy about being called ashore and questioned the manager's decision as he walked to the dugout. The City skipper is just returning from a five-week absence but felt he had more to offer. Dipo Akinyemi, one of two strikers on the bench, replaced him.

Dos Santos was replaced by Henry Rylah who struck the underside of the crossbar with a ferocious 30 yards strike but it arguably would have papered over the cracks had Derry walked away with a point.

Josh Thomas was thrown on with three minutes of stoppage time remaining and the ex-Drogheda man wasn't happy with the time afforded him – perhaps a sign that frustrations are boiling over in the camp?

When asked about his constant tinkering and tweaking of formation Lynch admitted he's 'trying everything' to find a winning formula. He's urged the players and fans to keep the faith.

"There was an element of freshening it up a bit. We had changes forced on us involving players who haven't played much; perhaps three games in a week would have been too much for them," he explained.

"We're trying everything and it's between me and my sleep at the moment, unfortunately. We just have to keep going and pull the players through and build confidence. Hopefully we can get a clean sheet and one can build to two and two to three. That's what we have to keep believing in."

With no natural striker on the pitch until the 71st minute, what was his thinking behind that decision?

"Clarkey is probably the one who has been scoring goals of late. Mickey is back in the team who will get you goals. On Monday night Kev [dos Santos] got a great goal and was superb in training and had real confidence about him so I thought it was about time to give him a start.

"I thought Darragh Markey started to show a bit of form. Those were players we wanted to get on the pitch and for long periods we felt it worked.

"Conor Barr had two chances and one very good one but you want that to fall to Mickey Duffy or Clarkey or someone like that and unfortunately, it fell to Conor Barr. No disrespect to Conor but you want it to fall to a centre forward or one of your attacking players, not your full-back."

Is it a concern that Derry haven’t kicked on since that memorable win over Rovers last month? “Not as far as wins are concerned and that's what we have to start doing. We know that. We're not sugar-coating that.

"We were unbeaten in six there but we need to start winning them. We need to start putting our dominance into wins and into goals. We know we're not scoring enough goals at the moment and we wanted to get as many players on the pitch as possible who have been scoring goals. The part that’s ripping the confidence out of us or disappointing us at the moment is we're just not being clinical in the final third and then we concede a stupid penalty which is hugely frustrating.

"You can't start feeling sorry for yourselves, or think 'here we go again'. It needs to stop.

"There are two major areas on the pitch that we have to get right. Until we get them right we're not going to win football games so we need to get that right sooner rather than later," warned Lynch.

Friday's trip to Waterford team now holds extra significance for Lynch and his troops - a must-win game if he's to quieten the 'Lynchmob'.