Gary O'Neill says that equalling the record for consecutive League of Ireland crowns is a huge motivation for Shamrock Rovers as they close in on the Premier Division title.
The leaders' surprise draw at UCD last Friday looked to have opened the door for their title challengers but Derry City lost at Sligo Rovers that night and St Patrick's Athletic were beaten by Drogheda United in Inchicore on Monday.
So Rovers now lead Derry by five points and Saints by four with five rounds remaining. They next face Shelbourne on Friday night, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
"We know that we have left a lot of points behind us this season but fortunately for us everyone else has as well," midfielder O'Neill told RTÉ Sport.
"With five games to go we have a five-point lead at the top of the league and if you offered me that before the start of the season I would have bitten your hand off.
"We know that our destiny is in our hands but all we can do is play one game at a time because you're not going to get more than three points."
The only League of Ireland team to win a top-flight four-in-a-row to date was the Hoops side of 1983-87.
"Any event I ever go to with Shamrock Rovers that team always have a table at the top of the event.
"To be able to join that group, that special team, and to be someone who has been here for the four years is a huge incentive. It's an amazing carrot to have dangled in front of us so hopefully we can drive it home now."
The champions beat Shels three out of four times last year but have drawn the three league meetings to date in 2023.
"Over the season, we haven’t beaten Shels yet," said O'Neill. "That’s something we want to put right so there is a bit of an extra incentive about it. No better time to do it with the run-in that we have.
"Great battles. They’re a very good side. An honest bunch of players and they work really hard for their manager. There’s always a bit of needle in it.
"It’s a big big game for us."
O'Neill admits that Rovers have underperformed by their own high standards this term. Even if they were to win all their remaining games, they would finish with 74 points, five less than last year.
"We’re used to winning now and then it’s very hard for people to accept when you don’t win," he said. "That comes with the success and it’s part of the job with Rovers.
"I’ve been here for four years and been fortunate enough to get my hands on silverware every year. There’s a pressure to keep that going of course and with that pressure comes expectation, within the fans, the club, the players.
"We hold ourselves accountable and we want to be on the podium come the start of November."
Former Hoop Luke Byrne says Shels are targeting a scalp at Tallaght Stadium.
"We've played them seven times now [in two seasons], four draws. We were pegged back in a couple of those games in the last minute and were two-nil up this season.
"So a couple of near misses, which we don’t like and we’ll be going there full of confidence trying to win the game. Rovers are the one team we haven’t beaten so we still have to go and do that."
Full-back Byrne says this season has been "the most enjoyable period of my career" as Shelbourne have transformed from a newly promoted team aiming to establish themselves to contending for Europe in their second season under Damien Duff.
"We're ahead of teams with significantly bigger budgets and that to me is a result of the coaching staff’s work and the buy-in from the players," he said.
"It's just the result of consistent work on the system, consistent work on the training ground and the players improving. The manager works us really hard, he sticks to his beliefs and they have been his beliefs since day one so we all know exactly how to play, individually and as a team.
"The signs were there last season, we got to the FAI Cup final and we were competitive in near on every game. We have quietly gone about our business, under the radar a bit.
"We strengthened in the summer, the likes of Harry Wood and Will Jarvis have definitely improved us. It was a very young team 18 months ago. All those players are 18 months down the line and we have seen huge improvements in the likes of Gavin Molloy and Jack Moylan. Two of the outstanding players in the league and no-one probably knew about them 18 months ago."
Fourth-placed Shels lost 15 times in 2022 but have only five defeats so far this year and the lowest number of goals conceded, just 22 in 31 games.
"Over the whole year we have been very difficult to beat," said Byrne. "We have got too many draws [14] and there were a number of games that we were winning late on, which is frustrating. But that’s going to happen over the course of a season and I still feel we’re improving with five games to go.
"It's still really tight. We've put ourselves in a great position but that’s all it is."
Watch Shamrock Rovers v Shelbourne in the League of Ireland on Friday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on all games RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
