Champions Shelbourne Ready for Waterford Test | OneFootball

The League of Ireland Champions Shelbourne FC are on the road to the RSC to face Waterford FC tomorrow (7:45pm // Live on LOITV).

Duff has a near full-strength squad to choose from, with no new injury concerns after the opening match of the season against Derry City a week ago.

After training on Thursday at the AUL, the Reds boss Damien Duff delivered a squad update:

“It was a good week of training, energy and motivation were there, and the quality was evident as well. You never worry if the quality dips as long as the motivation is right. The alarm bells come when lads are off it mentally, but to their credit, they’ve looked sharp and on it.

“It was great to get minutes into the legs of new lads. Ellis Chapman missed a significant portion of the pre-season, it was great to see him get time last Friday and John Martin was absent for all of it. We considered bringing John on earlier last week, but it didn’t sit right with me as he hadn’t trained enough. It was great to get the new lads on the pitch, and overall, a great result.”

Duff completed his squad this season with the addition of James Norris on loan from Liverpool. The young defender made a good first impression. Duff said: “He’s settled in very well, he’s a great character, top-quality ability, and a fantastic addition to our squad. He’ll play a big role this season.”

The Reds face a formidable side in Waterford FC, who kicked off their new season with a 3-2 win against Sligo Rovers last Saturday. Duff knows the Deise present a tough challenge:

“What do you expect from Waterford? The same again, and more. Games last year were always very competitive, not much between us. They’ve tweaked the formation and brought in quality players, they have a brilliant captain and striker in Padraig Amond, and an excellent manager in Keith Long. They’re a tough nut to break down, and it’ll be a tricky challenge, but nothing different from what we expect, which is a very, very tough game.”

The opening game of the season threw up a number of closely fought affairs. Duff feels the League of Ireland will be a lot more competitive than some pundits are predicting:

“I don’t listen to or pay much attention to most of what I hear. My focus is solely on what I see every day in the club, the dressing room, the meeting room, and on the pitch. I know what we’re capable of. Everything outside is just noise.”

The Reds kicked off their campaign with a win, beating Derry City 3-1 at Tolka Park. Duff praised the players’ professionalism as they played the most surreal game of their careers:

“I thought they handled it well in what was a really strange evening. They dealt with it brilliantly. The standout thing for me is their motivation.

“I questioned them in pre-season and again before the Derry game…how motivated are they? I don’t need to know what drives you, just that they bring it every game, every day. They answered the question Friday. Now, what matters is what they do for the rest of the season.”