Two Dublin derbies dominate proceedings as a busy period in the Premier Division continues tonight.
St Patrick's Athletic boss Stephen Kenny perhaps put it best when asked if he was happy with how his side was faring given a mixed run of form, simply saying he didn’t know.
That feeling of puzzlement can be shared around the league in what is proving to be an even more competitive edition than last year.
The top seven teams are separated by just five points, and if results go a certain way tonight, that could be even smaller by 10pm.
Many sides will rue early season displays, slow starts and dropped points.
But with a third of the season to be completed when these games are played, the race for the title and European places is wide open.
At the end other end, the relegation picture has become the focus of three clubs.
Waterford have been in freefall in recent weeks, losing six on the bounce. Cork City and Sligo Rovers recorded victories last week and will clash tomorrow night in what will be a game of enormous proportions.
The attention will be on the top on this Friday.
Shamrock Rovers welcome the champions to Tallaght, with Shelbourne looking to prove their manager right in saying they are a much-improved outfit this year.
The Hoops had looked to be on the cusp of a long unbeaten run, something which they have done in the past.
Their seven-match record looked to be eight until a most unlikely comeback by Bohemians last Monday.
Now they must regroup with a massive test against Damien Duff's side.
Bradley has attempted explain the capitulation, keen to let it drive them on: "There's a number or reasons why we lost the game in a twenty minute period which is something very, very unlike us. I can’t remember something like that happening before to this team and this group.
"But it’s happened and we’ve been punished for it. It’s our responsibility now to make sure we learn from it and that it never happens again, in any game. At the moment and at the time, it obviously hurts. We’ve lost the game, a Dublin derby, a game we never looked in any danger of losing.
"And that’s the really frustrating bit. But as I’ve said before, it’s important for us to understand what happened and make sure we learn from that and that it doesn’t happen again."
Bradley is not overly concerned about how Shels have adapted to being champions and the improvement in their play.
"I'm sure there are little things they’ve changed or tweaked, that’s quite normal with most teams," the Hoops boss stated.
"But we know what Shels are about, but it’s more important what we’re about and we continue to do what we’ve been doing really well trust what we do, everything else will be fine."
Damien Duff has also been playing down new elements to this derby clash, one that Shels have yet to secure a victory away from home against an opponent in the top seven.
Duff said: "Even without a big win yet, people might feel slightly disappointed with two draws last weekend. But we're only two points off the top in a very tough league.
"The players have said it themselves it feels like it’s starting to click. When you look at us now, we look like a proper team, more settled, more dominant than the side that won the league, which I know might sound strange to say. Now it’s about getting over that final hurdle, turning performances into wins, and cutting out the silly goals."
For Bohemians, they go from crisis to opportunity with just five points to top spot and now having won as many matches as any other side in the league.
Alan Reynolds is experienced enough to know he hasn't won over his critics and all they've done is give themselves the chance to recover from the slow start.
St Pat's are the visitors after their own inconsistent run in which they've continued to pick up points, despite playing without the attacking ferocity you would expect, thus Kenny's bemusement at times when they should be better.
Reynolds has asked for fans to look at a long-term view: "What I would take out of it though is my hope that our fans now see what this group of players is capable of. They're a young team, they’ll make mistakes and there’ll be bumps along the road. But get behind them, encourage them and be patient with them, and together we can be a match for anyone in this league."
Ahead of taking on Kenny's outfit, he added: "St Pat's are a brilliant team, everyone knows how good they are. Stephen had them motoring towards the end of last season and they're only a point off the top now.
"They’re title favourites for a reason, you wouldn’t expect anything less with a manager like Stephen and the players that they have. But we are learning every week, getting better, so we have a group of players who want to test themselves and prove themselves against the best."
Two of the surprise packages clash as Galway United take on Drogheda United, while a rapdily-improving Derry City will aim to take another stride towards the leading positions when they meet struggling Waterford.
The Blues are managed by Matt Lawlor in the interim after the departure of Keith Long as they look to end their long losing run.
Lawlor was in place for the defeat to Cork and will hope to put more of a stamp on things on home soil.
Derry boss Tiernan Lynch hold RTÉ Sport earlier in the week that he sees it as a tough prospect.
Lynch said: "Our big thing is we have lots of work to do, and we have to get our own processes right. I feel we're starting to get there, and that's what we have to concentrate on. We can't control what happens around us, we can't control other teams, we can control what we do.
"Again, I keep saying this and saying this, I've yet to look at any fixtures to see any easy games. And we know Waterford is a really tough place to go. They're a team that's obviously just brought a new manager in.
"And they're probably going to have to impress the manager. They did have a difficult one last Monday with conceding two late goals. So they'll probably be bang up for tonight. But again, our job is to look after what we need to do and we need to go and try and build on our last two results."
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