After an excellent season opener on a potentially tricky night at Tolka Park, last season's SSE Airtricity League runners-up and FAI Cup champions St Patrick's Athletic have suffered two defeats on the trot.
And up next for Tim Clancy's side is 2021 league winners Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park which will be a tough test as they look to bounce back from losses to Sligo Rovers and Bohemians.
After the latter 1-0 defeat to Bohs on Monday, Clancy pointed to straight balls down the middle proving costly in both losses.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former UCD and Shamrock Rovers player Paul Corry put the spotlight on those defensive issues as a new-look back four tries to shore up.
"The concern I would have about Pat's, and Tim kind of touched on it in his post-match interview, is just the back four," he said.
"I thought it was a really sloppy goal to concede (against Bohemians). (Jack) Scott really needs to address the ball, he lets it hop once or twice and Stephen Mallon takes advantage of it.
You can hear Tim Clancy's post-match views and watch Paul Corry and Lisa Fallon's analysis below:
"And what you can't have - particularly the way Pat's play - is to try to be really progressive and create chances and then get done by one long ball.
"It kills all momentum and it kills all confidence you have from building up play when you know you could potentially be coughing up chances.
"Paddy Barrett is due to come back into that back four and he will be pivotal to that given the fact they've lost Lee Desmond out of that defensive unit so that is certainly one area that you would look for St Pat's to tidy up on."
He added of the three points from nine secured so far, "Even if they got out of Dalymount last night with a point, you start off with your first three games with four points and take a bit of confidence.
"What you don't want to do is get into a habit of losing games and that would be the concern for St Pat's that maybe they just look a bit of a soft touch at the back at this moment in time and that's something that needs to be addressed."
"Jack Byrne was the difference"@Paul_Corry on Jack Byrne's influence, long-range goal and excellent assist as @ShamrockRovers got back to winning ways on Monday night #RTESoccer #RTESoccerPodcast
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 1, 2022
Full podcast: https://t.co/45X8QG94xU
YouTube: https://t.co/NlO5WTXz4D pic.twitter.com/vYASvHODHJ
While Shamrock Rovers present a tough assignment for St Pat's, Corry believes Clancy won't be daunted given how his side performed against the Hoops in the curtain-raiser three weeks ago.
"What Tim will take confidence in is the President's Cup final against Shamrock Rovers. I thought they were really impressive when they played out in Tallaght that night and he'll be looking for more of the same from them," he said.
"And if they can get Eoin Doyle firing and Darragh Burns off one side coming in and contributing to goals and chances in the final third, you would expect that they will pick up."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
