Declan Devine wants his Derry City players to give their all against Waterford

The Candy Stripes boss was fuming after the midweek loss at Sligo Rovers and he expects a reaction tomorrow evening.

“We have big games ahead and whenever times are tough, it’s important that you have to stand up and be counted,” insisted Devine.

“It’s a bit of a cliché but that’s the reality, we have got to stand up and be counted. There’s nobody hurt more than ourselves.

“We have taken a bit of criticism and rightly so, but you have got to try and turn that criticism into a drive and determination to do well and get through this difficult period.

“We have had a very poor September and we have got to understand that we have to be better than that and make sure we have a better October. We are ready for a fight and we are ready to prepare to try and win a football match. That’s the way we have to approach it.

“I was quite critical myself on Tuesday but we got back in on Wednesday morning trained and we trained today with the sole focus on us trying to win the three points on Friday night against Waterford. I think we can do that because on our day we are a match for anybody but we have got to nullify mistakes and we must be better than what we have been.

“We have to have fight about us and some drive about us. We have a lot of experience throughout the group and we have got to use that experience to make sure we get a few wins before the end of the season.”

Despite coming out and criticising his players after their clash at the Showgrounds, Devine is still backing his squad to turn things around.

“The boys are hurting and I was hurting after the game on Tuesday but the one thing that I have constantly done is back the group of boys that are here and rightly so,” he stated.

“All the boys come in on a daily basis and work hard and we need that to continue because we cannot afford anybody to check out. We all have to stand up and be counted, man up and deal with the hurt and disappointments.

“At the end of the day this club is build on the foundations of a city that has had to fight for everything that it has ever had and now is the time for us to step up to that plate ourselves and show a bit of fight and spirit. If we can do that then I have no doubt that we can pick up a few wins here and then before the end of the season.”

Devine meanwhile confirmed that he won’t be risking any players who are carrying any knocks, especially as his side have a two break after tonight’s clash.

“We won’t take any unnecessary risks,” he explained.

“Joe Thomson won’t be involved, Ally (Gilchrist) won’t be involved because he has been out for six weeks and has trained for only two days, Gerardo (Bruna) is very close but we have to judge it on whether we take a risk in this game, knowing that we have a two week period to get people ready for our last four or five games.

“There are certainly people on the sidelines who are champing to get a chance in the coming games.”