DECLAN DEVINE SHRUGGED off the pressure as Derry City booked an FAI Cup final return with a 3-0 win against Shelbourne in last night’s semi-final replay.
A brace from man of the match Stephen McLaughlin and a third from David McDaid gave the travelling fans plenty to shout about in Tolka Park, a far cry from the scenes in Sunday’s drawn game where Derry were booed off the pitch by a section of their own support at half-time.
The Candystripes will now be hoping for a repeat of the 2006 final, a game which they won on penalties, when they come up against old cup foes St Patrick’s Athletic in the Aviva Stadium on 4 November.
Asked afterwards if a cup final would silence the Brandywell boo-boys, Devine said it doesn’t bother him one way or another.
“It might, I don’t care,” the Derry manager said.
“The reality of it is, I’ll work as hard as I can and they can throw whatever criticism they can. I’ll continue to work with the backroom team as hard as I possibly can.”
He added: “I would love people to get behind us and see that we’ve a bunch of young, local talent that’s really working hard for the success of the club. I think if you listen to the supporters here in Tolka Park tonight, you’d be saying where’s the negativity coming from.
“The reality is, it’s not about Declan Devine. It’s about Derry City Football Club.”
Derry have already had their hearts broken in one cup this season, losing on penalties to Crusaders in the Setanta Sports Cup final in May.
The cup runs have pleased Devine, but he says it will all be for nought unless they can finish the job this time around.
“The secret is let’s try and win this one. We were beaten on penalties [by Crusaders] and we were bitterly disappointed. We don’t want to just be getting to cup finals, we want to take some silver back to the Brandywell.
“It’s been bleak for the last few years even though we won the First Division and a league cup. Let’s see if we can compete and win a major title here.”
