ANDY BOYLE ADMITS Dundalk face the prospect of the end of an era as they bid to force their way out of the promotion/relegation play-off place.
The Lilywhites have won five of the last seven Premier Division titles and qualified for the Europa League group stages twice since 2016, yet they are now second bottom of the table as they prepare to host Leinster Senior League side St Mochta’s in the second round of the FAI Cup tomorrow.
The centre back, capped once for the Republic of Ireland, is under contract for the 2022 campaign but has already seen midfielder Chris Shields depart for Linfield this season after being offered a longer-term contract.
Patrick McEleney has also signed a pre-contract agreement with Derry City after they were able to commit to a three-year deal, and Boyle accepts others could soon depart.
“Possibly, yeah. The club is working hard in the background, you’ve got to believe the club is working hard in the background to get lads we want to keep tied down for next season, and we’ve got to add to that from outside, wherever that may be,” he said.
“It’s about getting Dundalk back to where they have been over the years. It’s uncertain times. We’ve got to get our best players nailed down for next year and it’s got to happen over the next little while.
“I’m hoping it’s something happening in the background. I can’t tell because I’m not involved in that, but we’ve got to believe that the club is doing its stuff right.
“When you look at the league table it’s not nice to see. People say we’ll turn it around but we are where we are now for a reason. We’ve got to make sure we change that as quick as possible.
It does hurt, and it should hurt everyone involved in the squad, with the success that we’ve had, getting in the Europa League group stages, then you look at the league table this year.”
It’s not pretty viewing for Vinny Perth’s charges, who have lost four of their last five league games – including three on the spin – and saw their Europa Conference League ambitions brought to an end by Dutch side Vitesse.
“People can say from the outside that it doesn’t hurt,” Boyle continued. “But you’re with them every day, you can see the disappointment. Talk is cheap and there are times when you have to turn things around.
“After the game on Friday (losing the Louth derby to Drogheda United) there were people angry, and rightly so. You have to be positive because there is no point coming in for a training session and everybody slaughtering each other and making it difficult.
“As a group we have to work hard, we have to stay positive. It comes back to mentality. We’re the ones responsible. Other people can only help you so far. We’re the ones who have to go out and do it.
“The European games are all easier to get up for but as a professional you have to make sure you’re up for every game. The games in between count as much as progressing in Europe and, unfortunately, we haven’t done ourselves justice.”
With a potential banana skin tomorrow night, Boyle added: “It goes back to the old thing that your mentality has to be right, you approach the game for what it is, to progress in the cup and that’s the way we’ve to see it.
“We’ve got to perform and go through. It probably is their cup final and we’ve to make sure our approach is right and pay them respect.
