AFTER HIS SIDE failed to win for the fifth consecutive league game over the weekend, Gerard Lyttle said he’s hopeful that Sligo Rovers will be in a position to strengthen their squad when the transfer window opens in July.
Lyttle’s side, who finished the game with 10 men following the late dismissal of young defender John Mahon, played out a goalless draw with Limerick at the Showgrounds in Saturday evening’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division fixture.
After drawing a blank for the third game in a row, only goal difference is keeping the Bit o’ Red out of the relegation zone at Limerick’s expense. The westerners have hit the net on just 14 occasions in 19 league games in 2018.
“I’m not downbeat,” Lyttle said afterwards. “I can see progress in this team. We’re close. We’re not far away. If I’m being truthful, I think we’re short of maybe two or three players to make a really good team.
“The boys are working extremely hard in training. Everything is there. It’s just getting wins and putting the ball in the back of the net — that’s the frustrating thing.”
Lyttle has been in his current role for just over a year. After succeeding Dave Robertson in April 2017, he helped Sligo to avoid relegation. However, the former Cliftonville manager has been forced to contend with some criticism locally this season as results so far suggest that the club will face another battle to avoid the drop to the First Division.
The Belfast native remains confident in his own ability, as well as that of his players, to bring about an improvement in their fortunes. However, he accepts that their return in front of goal is a major concern.
“I think there has to be a realism from people, and really look deep into what we have and where we are,” he said. “It’s no dig or anything like that at the club, but the budget isn’t a budget of the top five [clubs] or whatever. We don’t have that. We’ve brought in some young players, we’ve taken a punt on some players who we thought would step up. To be fair, it’s hard on them.
“I don’t think there’s a manager who’ll work harder than me. I really don’t. I’ll dig for everything, I’ll look for everything, I’ll try everything. I want the best for this club and I’m determined to get the best for this club.
“I think the performance levels have been there. There has been quality, but in the final third there hasn’t been. We need to do something about it and there’s only two things you can do: you can either continue to work and hope that the boys on the pitch will give us that quality, or we need to bring in players that can give us the quality and help us. They’re the two things we need to address.
“There are baby steps being made. Yes, the fans are frustrated and I think some people maybe have their own agenda. I’ve said it before: I think this club needs stability. Going and looking for new managers… a [new] manager coming in here is going to face the same problems as I am.
“If they think that a new manager coming in is going to wave a magic wand and go ‘we’re going to win this game’, it’s not going to happen. I believe the club have the right manager. I believe in myself and I believe in the players.”
Lyttle, who takes his side to the Brandywell to play Derry City on Friday night, added: “The most successful clubs are the clubs who stick by their manager and support them. To be fair to the club, they’ve shown me great support. Hopefully that will continue and hopefully we can reward them down the line.
“Things like that are out of my hands. I’ll just continue to work as hard as I can. I’m paid to work for the club as a manager and I’ll continue to work. I’m proud to work here, I love the club, I love the supporters, I love the people around and I’m so determined to bring success to this club. I think I will. I really do believe that.”
– Additional reporting by Jessica Farry
