Stephen Bradley wants Rovers to finish league campaign in style

With a hat-trick of SSE Airtricity Premier Division titles almost in the bag, Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley could be forgiven for adopting a conservative approach when his side face Derry City in their penultimate league game of the season, but the defending champions will be gunning for all three points against their nearest pursuers.

The Hoops' 4-1 win over St Patrick's Athletic on Friday night took on even greater significance when the Candystripes slipped up at home in a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne.

Derry now need to defeat Sligo on Monday night to keep the title race alive.

"A fantastic performance and a fantastic result," was how Bradley assessed the win over the Saints when he spoke to RTÉ Sport. "We'll go to win the game against Derry.

"No one has done us favours. We've said it all along, it's in our hands, it doesn't matter what anyone else does.

"There's a lot of noise from outside, a lot of people talking, but these players step up. They always do and they always have. They have tremendous character."

Serge Atakayi gave the visitors the perfect start after just four minutes, but Bradley's faith in his charges meant he was never panicked.

"Conceding early is always OK with this group because they respond," he said.

"Late on, obviously you're chasing it. But early on, we felt we were fine, we were right in the game."

Results on the domestic front should allow Rovers to play with even great freedom when they face Ghent in the Europa Conference League next Thursday.

"We'll go to win it, like we did last week at home, as strong as possible," Bradley added.

"You don't have to consider travelling, so we'll go to win the game."