While Graham Gartland believes Shamrock Rovers will go on a winning run at some point in the remainder of this SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division season, the former Hoops defender feels it will come a little bit too late to turn the title race into more than a two-horse race.
Amid a litany of injuries and inconsistent results before the recent mid-season break, the reigning four-in-a-row champions had fallen off the pace set by Shelbourne and Derry City.
The two-week break didn't prove to be a reset on the evidence of last Friday with Stephen Bradley's side suffering another setback at Sligo Rovers who saw former Hoops midfielder Simon Power score twice against his former club in a 2-0 win.
The defeat leaves Shamrock Rovers fourth in the table, 15 points behind Shelbourne, albeit with a game in hand on Damien Duff's side, and at a time when both teams' focus will soon be split with European commitments.
While Bradley's team have shown a propensity to claw back deficits in the past, the size of this gap at this point of the season makes it unlikely that they will be able to overhaul both Shels and Derry City, who are just two points off the summit.
"When Shamrock Rovers are in striking distance of winning a league, it's very hard to write them off," said Gartland on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
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"I don't think they're in striking distance. A couple of things would have to happen. Two teams have to fall off a cliff here and not collect points, which I don't think Derry and Shels will do.
"I think they'll have some blips along the way, Shels' first time challenging for a title, the pressure might affect them a little bit and they might drop points.
"But I can't see that happening to both Derry and Shelbourne. So (Shamrock Rovers) have to overtake two teams and throw Waterford in there who are ahead of them and on the same (number of) games.
"Then throw in the fact that their form this year has been erratic. Is this team capable of going on a run? Yes they are.
"But have they shown it this season? Probably not. And as much as I don't want to write them off, everything is pointing to they haven't shown enough form that the other teams have.
"They haven't been able to get their best XI on the pitch together at anytime this season and therefore I can see them getting points and pushing and finishing ultimately third, but do I see them really challenging between now and the end of the year? I probably don't."
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