O'Neill eager for fixture to go ahead this evening

SHAMROCK ROVERS will head for Belfield again this evening, hopeful that the anticipated improvement in the weather materialises and their game against UCD, in which victory would clinch a 17th league title for the club, goes ahead after the pitch was declared unplayable last night.

Both clubs agreed with the decision of the match officials to postpone the game after a second pitch inspection in less than an hour yesterday afternoon suggested the surface was deteriorating under a relentless deluge.

“I’m disappointed that the game didn’t go ahead because we wanted to play but it was the right decision,” said Rovers manager Michael O’Neill last night. “In the space of 20 minutes you could see the pitch had got worse and it only seemed likely to get worse so there was no other option really but to put it off.”

Today’s forecast is for dry and sunny spells and the hope is the pitch will improve sufficiently for the game to be played at the same time (7.05) this evening. If not, then things will start to get a little tight for the Dubliners whose final game is, like all the rest, scheduled for Friday evening when they could, if they fail to win against UCD, be caught by Sligo Rovers.

“Obviously we wouldn’t want to play on Wednesday and Friday,” says O’Neill, “but that’s a decision for the league and there’s not too much point in worrying about it at this stage. Hopefully we’ll get to play tomorrow.”

O’Neill, meanwhile, is one of two League of Ireland managers being mentioned in connection with the vacant St Johnstone job in Scotland although it was Paul Cook who was last night installed as the firm bookie’s favourite to land the post.

The club, fourth in the SPL table, is looking for a replacement for Derek McInnes who left to take charge of Bristol City last week. Youth team coach Alex Clelend and former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris took charge of the side for the derby game against Dundee United over the weekend.

Cook and O’Neill are believed to have attracted attention in Scotland for their achievements working in the league here on limited budgets and the Rovers boss had a spell as a player at McDiarmid Park just over a decade ago.