SHAMROCK ROVERS’ GOALKEEPING situation could cost the team any chance of the title this season and even put manager Stephen Bradley out of a job.

That’s the view of former UCD and Bray midfielder Alan Cawley who says the manager must take some of the responsibility for the problems his players have been having between the sticks this seasons.

Rovers lost 2-1 to Dundalk on Friday, largely as a result of another goalkeeping error, and Cawley says it’s not good enough for a team with title aspirations.

“I’ve been saying this a long time, I’m almost blue in the face saying it,” Cawley told RTÉ’s Soccer Republic last night.

“Fans can see it, everyone who watches League of Ireland football can see it.  The Rovers’ goalkeeping situation is literally a shambles at this stage.

“You look at the games so far that Rovers have lost. They have played 10 games, [Kevin] Horgan has played seven, [Tomer] Chencinski three and any time that they have made a mistake, they get dropped straight away.

“Now, I think that is a little unfair on the goalkeepers.

“But if you keep making mistake after mistake after mistake — I’ve no problem with a goalkeeper making one or two mistakes — but they’ve already lost four games and every game they have lost has been a goalkeeping error.

“They are in a position now, Shamrock Rovers, where obviously they want to challenge… but if you are conceding goals as sloppy as they are against the top teams, you’ve no chance.

“Ultimately I blame the manager. It’s going to cost the team and it could cost him his job if he keeps sticking with this making mistake after mistake every match.”

You can watch Cawley’s comments — and the mistakes he mentions — here:

"The @ShamrockRovers goalkeeper situation is a shambles." - @alancaw highlights what he sees is the biggest weakness in their squad and says it's possible it could cost Stephen Bradley his job. pic.twitter.com/CMWvV5GV7g

— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) April 9, 2018

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