Game 29

Finn Harps 2-2 Dundalk

This has been a long and hard season. There’s been sackings, COVID, injuries, ups, downs, more downs, protests, sales, pre contracts…

We’re all devastated. Not just about losing Michael Duffy to Derry, which we probably, deep down knew was going to happen months ago. Devastated at the lack of leadership, accountability and truth coming from Oriel Park right now.

Devastated that this club has gone from serial champions and Europa League group stage qualifiers to relegation candidates seemingly over night.

The performances on the pitch have improved ten fold in the last few weeks. That might be down to fitness, that might be down to attitude, that might be down to management. Whatever the reason, it was sorely needed and everyone involved has to be applauded for that.

But again, and we’re all sick of saying this, we’re talking about a marked improvement on form that was categorically relegation material. We’ve taken seven points from a possible nine and again, that has to be applauded because without those seven points we would be staring straight at a relegation playoff.

I spoke before about the void left by fans not being in the grounds this season. This team hadn’t heard the support from the fans. They might not have known just how much support they were going to get in spite of how poor their performances were. The manager might not have known how much support he was going to get from the fans although he should have.

We feel the devastation that Vinny feels at the Michael Duffy situation. We felt it with Chris Shields, we felt it with Patrick McEleney and we’ll probably feel it with Hoban, Gartland and others at the end of the season not to mention the unmentionables that left last season along with Massey and Mountney.

We’ve weirdly come to terms with it now. Because of the way our football club is being run, nothing should surprise us. Andy Boyle is still under contract next season. If he asks to leave like Shields did, like Colovic did, will anyone stand in his way?

We are in full blown disarray and we get daily reminders of that fact. I want the manager, I want Vinny, who undoubtedly cares for the club and cares for the fans to tell us the truth.

If you’re not comfortable with the way stuff has been reported, tell us the truth and we can stop making up rumours and creating ‘outside noise’.

You think it’s unfair to speculate on the future? Tell us the truth. Don’t speculate. Have you been offered a contract? Have you any inclination about what is going to happen next season?

If you don’t know? Tell us you don’t know. The fans right now are right behind the manager and the team, the players on the pitch. The only way the manager can lose the fans is to lie to them.

Maybe there is a reason why these questions are being batted away. There might be a very good reason and if there is and I’m coming across as unreasonable then I will hold my hands up and apologise for demanding the truth.

But right now, I cannot for the life of me figure out why the manager of this football club is not engaging with the supporters. How can he lose? We all know the place is a circus! We all know he’s doing everything he can to right the ship but we all know the ship is sinking because there’s massive holes in it. When he’s asked about the massive holes he says he doesn’t want to speculate on the giant, ship-sinking holes about to engulf all of us.

Liverpool did suffer an injury crisis last season. They did lose a lot of games. They didn’t drop to fourth last and they didn’t let Mo Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold sign pre contracts with Leicester and let Jordan Henderson leave to Rangers half way through the season. They also have players under contract for next season.

I don’t want this to come across like I’ve turned my back on the manager. I haven’t. I know this problem isn’t of his making, I know there are much larger elements at play here.

I don’t want this to come across as an attack on the manager because it’s not. I think he’s doing the best job he can in the situation he’s in.

There comes a point though where he needs to talk to us. No one above him is talking. We need to hear what’s going on because we’re all devastated.

What does he have to lose? He doesn’t have a contract for next season. Will they sack him again?

The more he protects those above him or the more he chooses to ignore the issues around him the less credibility he will have with the fans. When all is said and done, Vinny has a pretty incredible legacy with Dundalk fc and that would only be improved by giving us the truth.