Walter Figueira warns things will 'get ugly' if Derry City lose to Waterford

The former Blues forward knows the League of Ireland Premier Division is an unforgiving and ‘unpredictable’ league this season.

And he has stressed the importance of ending the club’s four game winless run before they get caught up in a relegation scrap.

The Candy Stripes, who have picked up just two points from a possible 12 over the past four fixtures, entertain third placed Waterford at Brandywell.

And Figueira reckons Derry must emulate his former club and manage games better if they’re to climb out of trouble.

“I’m just trying to take it game by game but you never know what will happen,” said the Londoner. “The league has been unpredictable all year. We could go on a run and get back up there, the points are so tight between the teams.

“At the moment we’re not on anything other than getting three points against Waterford. And we’ve got a lot to do in my opinion,” he added.

“We need to approach the game very focussed. I know they’ve lost players and managers but they still look fairly strong and they’re still getting results.

“We’re trying to take a leaf out of their book and get results. They’re dealing with games.

“We know it’s going to be difficult, especially with how unpredictable they are as well, but we have to be more focussed.

“There’s no more hiding. We definitely need three points - that’s our main aim.”

Conceding late goals against Bohemians and Sligo Rovers during the past week has left Derry looking nervously over their shoulders .

“We were devastated after the Sligo game,” said Figueira.“It’s happening too frequently now.

“We’ve got to nip that in the bud going into the Waterford game. We have to make sure we’re concentrated until the final whistle.”

City have also lacked an attacking edge. While they showed glimpses of what they can do against Bohs at Dalymount, Declan Devine’s troops have scored just 12 goals in 13 games and registered just once in their last four.

Figueria has netted just twice this campaign while James Akintunde (3) and Stephen Mallon (3) lead the club’s scoring charts in all competitions.

Former Chelsea youth, Figueira missed a golden chance to put Derry ahead in the second half against Sligo when hitting the post and he concedes they can’t afford to waste chances against a resurgent Waterford side who have Europe in their sights.

“I had a chance but misjudged the pace of the ball and I’ll hold my hands up, I should’ve dealt with that and scored. It would’ve taken some pressure off us.

“As a collective we still need to defend a lot better, especially if we’re trying to move up the table.We need to start getting results very soon before things start to look a bit ugly.

“We definitely have the players, it’s just important for us to gel together as soon as possible. We have to try and bring that same style of play we showed against Bohs but add results to it.

“Even if we don’t play pretty football, it’s all about results right now. That’s our number one focus.”