Shamrock Rovers need positive injury news to revive challenge - Paul Corry

Shamrock Rovers desperately need the return of some of their more experienced players if they are to retain their league title and make it five in a row, according to Paul Corry.

The fifth defeat of the season came at home to SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division table-toppers Shelbourne last Friday, meaning Damien Duff's side now hold a nine-point lead over the Tallaght club after 19 games of the campaign.

The 2-0 reversal was the latest setback for Stephen Bradley’s side in a season that has yet to ignite. The manager has reiterated his stance that he has full faith in his players and no-one is reaching for the panic button, but speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former UCD, Sheffield Wednesday and Northampton midfielder Paul Corry says the champions need an improvement on their injury list if they are to get their own title bid back on track.

"The worry for Rovers is the amount of games they are losing. They have already lost more games this season than they did in the whole of last season. That has to be a concern for Stephen Bradley," said the ex-Hoops player.

"I think it’s coming down to margins. The first 30 minutes, they were quite good. They had two really big chances, one for Trevor Clarke who hits the post and another for Johnny Kenny…he needed to score, he just didn’t get enough contact on the ball. He gets there, but just doesn’t put it away.

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"When you are playing against teams like Shels, and creating chances like that, you need to take one of them and it becomes a