DANNY MANDROIU says he cannot wait to face Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday.
The 23-year-old spent two seasons at Bohs before signing with the Hoops and will be hoping to remind his former team of what they are missing.
Stephen Bradley’s side go into the match on the back of four consecutive wins, with St Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk among the sides that have come up short against them of late.
“They’re tough games. Bohs will be no less a tough game. It’s a Dublin derby and anything can happen in a derby. I’m looking forward to it.
“Your form doesn’t always matter. It’s about who has the right mindset going into the game and that’s usually enough to win it.”
Bohs will also be feeling confident, after an impressive 4-1 win over Shelbourne on Monday.
“Did they win, yeah? 4-1? Right. There you go. Everyone will be talking about this game now. It’s the biggest game in Ireland and the atmosphere is crazy. I can’t wait for it.
“The tension rises during the week and everyone is talking about it and saying how much they can’t wait for the big one on Friday night.
“You need to put the head down and prepare right and not lose focus but you have to enjoy it and embrace it too. That’s what football is about. You need to embrace these moments as they don’t come along that often and will soon be gone.”
Mandroiu will be going into the game in buoyant form after his clinical finish sealed a 1-0 win over Dundalk on Monday.
“It’s a great feeling. I love scoring and I love winning but it’s all about winning at the end of the day.”
A sublime ball from Jack Byrne set up the all-important goal and the Dubliner was full of praise for his teammate.
“Ah, a peach. He’s been doing it all season and I just couldn’t get on the end of them but finally, it came off. It’s football, sometimes you don’t always get the right pass, or you don’t time your own run right but luckily it all came off.
“We naturally understand each other’s game but we do discuss it building up to matches, definitely. When he’s on the ball, I run and he finds me. It’s the same with Dylan Watts, he gets his head up and I just start running and they find me. They are great passers of the ball.
“You can’t be predictable as you’ll get found out pretty quickly and lose that bit that you bring to the team. You have to mix your game up. You can’t always play the through ball, you have to wait, wait, wait sometimes but finally, it came off because he tried it a few times.
“Once I find momentum, it usually means I score goals so hopefully, that can continue.”
