Shamrock Rovers desperately need the return of some of their more experienced players if they are to retain their league title and make it five in a row, according to Paul Corry.
The fifth defeat of the season came at home to SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division table-toppers Shelbourne last Friday, meaning Damien Duff's side now hold a nine-point lead over the Tallaght club after 19 games of the campaign.
The 2-0 reversal was the latest setback for Stephen Bradley’s side in a season that has yet to ignite. The manager has reiterated his stance that he has full faith in his players and no-one is reaching for the panic button, but speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former UCD, Sheffield Wednesday and Northampton midfielder Paul Corry says the champions need an improvement on their injury list if they are to get their own title bid back on track.
"The worry for Rovers is the amount of games they are losing. They have already lost more games this season than they did in the whole of last season. That has to be a concern for Stephen Bradley," said the ex-Hoops player.
"I think it’s coming down to margins. The first 30 minutes, they were quite good. They had two really big chances, one for Trevor Clarke who hits the post and another for Johnny Kenny…he needed to score, he just didn’t get enough contact on the ball. He gets there, but just doesn’t put it away.
"When you are playing against teams like Shels, and creating chances like that, you need to take one of them and it becomes a very different game.
"It is all about getting the bodies back.
"Some of the bodies that have come back from injury have looked really sluggish over the last few games. They need more minutes to get up to speed and they desperately need the likes of Dylan Watts, Gary O’Neill, Sean Hoare and Lee Grace back in because the centre of the pitch doesn’t seem to be functioning like it has done in previous years.
"Once they get those bodies back, you could see them going on a run, it’s just whether or not they can get them all back, and all back together."
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