Tiernan Lynch 'can't coach desire' criticism put fire in my belly says Adam O'Reilly

The Brandywell boss told the assembled Press after the 2-1 loss at Pearse Park that Derry had lost the fight against Galway and claimed 'you can't coach desire'.

Those words struck a chord with the Corkman who prides himself on his workrate and passion on the pitch.

"It hurts of course, especially someone like myself," said O'Reilly. "I'm an honest player. It's like it puts a fire in your belly to show that I do have this desire or show I have the heart or whatever you want to call it.

"That game against Galway just wasn't good enough at all."

Derry responded instantly with a spirited display against champions Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght on Monday night - a match where O'Reilly played a significant role.

The midfielder, who has scored seven goals in 133 appearances, struck the crossbar after three minutes as Derry took the game to their hosts. He also played a part in the build-up to Liam Boyce's first half opener and played a terrific pass to set the Belfast man up for another scoring chance in the second half.

O'Reilly insists that performance must be the 'bare minimum' for Derry from now until the end of the season. And he hasn't given up hope of finishing in the European spots as 'ambitious' as that statement may sound having won just FIVE of their 23 games so far.

"Against Rovers we obviously couldn't see out the game but we just need to start stringing a few wins together and get more points on the board. It is frustrating when you go 1-0 up and to concede so late in the game.

"I was really enjoying it out there. No matter what team you play against in the league, we all need to step up to the plate. When it comes to against Rovers, they're known as being one of the best if not the best in the league.

"In games like that everyone needs to step up their game, especially with the amount of bodies we're down at the moment with injuries and things like that.

"That performance against Rovers has to be the bare minimum for the rest of the season, especially with the European games coming up as well. We've set our standards now and need to stick to them."

Derry are 11 points behind third-placed Bohemians with 13 games to go but O'Reilly insists it's not just about pride. He isn't ruling anything out.

"The goal now really has to be, and I know it's a bit ambitious, but we want to win every single game until the end of the season. Obviously there will be little bumps in the road but we need to be looking at the European spots and obviously pride comes into play as well.

"The first half of the season was nowhere near good enough. It's frustrating for the players and for the supporters to watch us.

"I can see how frustrating they can be as well. It's obviously for pride and to put things right as well.

"We've not been up to where we should be but I definitely think we should be looking at the European spots and you've got the FAI Cup as well. So that's something else we have to look towards. At the moment it's about rolling our sleeves up but we are down bodies and it's about how we deal with that situation until we do get more players in."