Ruaidhri Higgins expects Drogheda to be 'fully motivated' for visit of Derry City

​The City boss described Friday's clash against the Boynesiders as a 'must-win' if they're to keep alive their title aspirations but with talk of a potential takeover and a move to full-time football next season, Higgins knows Drogheda players will have plenty to prove from now until the end of the campaign.

Drogheda are one of only two part-time clubs in the League of Ireland Premier Division but Higgins, who completed his UEFA Pro Licence alongside Doherty, expects nothing but a professional, full blooded approach to the game from his opponents despite having little to play for in terms of the league table.

"By all accounts, Drogheda could be going full-time very soon and the players will want to earn contracts, and if they’re not there, they will want to earn deals at other clubs," said Higgins. "So I think in League of Ireland terms, it’s very difficult to put the feet up in the latter stages because you always have something to play for, whether it’s the team, or whether it’s your own individual situation, so I don’t see that being a factor at all.

"I just know the professionalism of the staff there and the players. They don’t want anyone going to their ground and taking home the three points, so they will be fully motivated I’m sure.

“What has gone on down at Drogheda has been absolutely outstanding. They deserve a lot of credit. It’s well-documented that they would have a low budget in relation to a lot of the other teams, so they deserve huge credit.

"They have got seasoned campaigners, they have young, hungry players and right up the spine of their team, they have lads who know their way around and who have been around the block a few times.

"The players will be playing to either stay there or go somewhere else, and that’s the nature of League of Ireland football, but hopefully we go down there and really kick on from the second half performance last week and try and put on a dominant display against a good side.

"Everyone knows what Drogheda are like and how difficult this place can be to go and win. We’ve done it a few times, but there are times we haven’t. It’s always a tough test, they always put it up to the top clubs in the league and they have done now for the last couple of years and I expect no different on Friday."

Derry have it all to lose on Friday with their league title tilt on the line but they go into the game having issued the perfect response to a shock defeat in their last fixture on the road.

That 1-0 loss to Sligo was followed up by a 6-0 demolition job on UCD which has helped boost morale in the Brandywell camp this week.

"It always helps when you score a few goals, and few brilliant goals as well. Some of the goals we got were of a very high standard so it’s good for the confidence after a disappointing week previously, so we responded well again, and we need to continue that between now and the end of the season."

Of course the last time Derry visited United Park they clinched a 1-0 win in a game Brian Maher produced one of the saves of the season to deny former Drogs striker Freddy Draper.

Derry recorded a 3-0 win at Brandywell when the teams last met in August and they can take confidence from those recent results.

"It always helps and you can use it as a reference point. You can say that going into that game which we won down there, we weren’t playing as well as we are now, so that’s another positive. “Bar the Sligo game, we have been good, and if we can continue that, then we know we can go down there and get a result."

What’s the team news ahead of the game?

“We’re not too bad at all. Patrick McEleney is getting closer and we will see him play again this season,” he confirmed.

“Mark Connolly is getting closer also. We can review those two situations in particular, closer to the time.”