Salutations to all who read. Let us begin by saying the crowd and the atmosphere last night was exceptional and it definitely impacted the players, fair play to everyone who turned up. I'm a bit late today, got a bit carried away with the pints and before I knew it i was absolutely destroying a spice bag in the room at 2am, God forgive me.

I prowled into town in the early afternoon yesterday to wet me lips with a few pints in a few different establishments, as my excitement was palpable. Spoke to a gentlemen in one of these establishments who was a little down on his luck, but through simple whats the craic and where are you from shite talk, we were laughing like 2 dopes and it was a lovely way to begin the evening, if only for 45 minutes.

I ventured forth again with giddiness to O’Nellys where a sea of Rovers jerseys and even more shite talk was happening, great atmosphere. Met up with the usual suspects and plonked ourselves into our vantage point, the eagles nest if you will, albeit, occupied by turkeys (us)

I felt overall, i really couldn't have asked much more from the squad on the day? There was a little bit of the old habit of not being able to get out however McElMagnifico was superb in steadying the ship and honestly, just a great young lad, his composure was commendable. I felt Pearce put in a good shift, non stop running and its great to see him put a shift in. Quirk in me neck, my beloved, had a good game and fuck me when he starts running forward hes genuinely like a transformer, he just absolutely eats the turf up. Carlos McHugh was cool and collected, one or two buckshee mistakes but performed well overall. Super Sam with a tremendous save second half over the bar to keep us in it. Alex Nolan has put in good performances the last few games but id like to see him take a chance, take a man on, just take a risk, fucking run through him if you have to, just take the chance and whip it in.

Cian Kavanagh was decent, he picked out Pearce with a header first half which would have been as assist but what really surprised me and those around me is that no one saw Pearce coming at all, so for him to have that awareness and vision was very telling. I feel if this managerial change occured 2-3 months prior i dont think we'd be much better off, but we wouldn't be where we are either, if that makes sense. Now, it may be due to my intoxication throughout the evening, but a man has to enjoy himself, but I feel it was a decent performance and we weren't overly incumbered with their threat, despite being up against a team completely reborn and thriving.

And I'm gonna say it, we're still fuckin in it lads. Genuinely, 2-3 wins would see us rightly, we still have Drogs to play. Listen to me when i tell you, there is absolutely no point throwing the towel in now. It's very easy as i always say to lie down and die and give out and whinge and talk rubber about the club and the team and yadayadayada. Keep your head on, keep a bit of faith and continue to show your support because genuinely, hard times come and go, the tough times never last and the strongest remain. If, in the eventuality we find ourselves away to Longford on a Friday, what then? Are we just going to waffle and cry then when theres nothing we can do about it? Nonsense, I'd rather eat for a week out of Best Kebab and have my stomach turn into a nuclear Chernobyl level reactor than sit there crying thinking of what could have been.

We know at the end of the season there'll be big changes, we know huge changes are coming with ownership, stadium etc, that's all there ready to play for but its absolutely superfluous to what's HERE and NOW. What im saying is, block out everything else around the club and just focus on maintaining a bit of optimism and faith and get ourselves into a good spot, there wont be a lamppost, lightbulb or chandelier safe in the town if and when we stay up, I'll be like Tarzan swinging off them, can ye imagine the relief, excitement and pints for when that happens? That's what I'm thinking of. Still in the hat lads.

Honourable mentions

McElMagnifico - Star man tonight, no need to elaborate

Carlos Agadoo McHugh - Solid, calm, collected

Young - At 33, he gets around. Few sloppy passes going forward but id forgive him, he cleaned up very well when required

A point to note, these are all defensive players, so, you know yourself, this would imply we were required to defend a lot 🤣but i said what i said. I'm a bit of a hopeless optimistic romantic but sure isn't it better than being down and out about where we are, it'll be grand! We look forward to the carousel of ideologies and agendas next week in yet another crucial game away, but we're partial to an auld bohs away uh huh uh huh i like it. Also a side note, i watched Hull and United today, what a crock of shite man, such a boring over paid snooze fest, give me the lashings of rain and a loss at home any day🤣With that being said, I'm putting the phone down for the evening, thumbs are worn off me. Giddy up the magnificent Bit O Red post match day hungover Rovers.

Until next time 🫡🔴⚪🐂