Unbeaten Shamrock Rovers earning respect around Europe says Stephen Bradley

Stephen Bradley believes that his team is earning the respect of European opponents after Shamrock Rovers continued their unbeaten streak in the UEFA Conference League.

Rovers secured an impressive 3-0 victory over FK Borac at Tallaght Stadium to make it five in a row unbeaten in the league phase of the competition, and have progressed to the knock-out phase with one game remaining.

The Hoops have three wins and two draws from their first five games of the six-match schedule and will finish this phase with a glamourous away day at Stamford Bridge to take on Premier League giants Chelsea next Thursday.

And the performances are shining the spotlight on the League of Ireland side who are gaining plaudits from every performance in this year's campaign.

A tentative start to the campaign as Rovers had to battle back against a strong APOEL side to secure a hard-fought point in the first game, which appeared to instil the confidence to earn back-to-back wins against Larne and The New Saints.

Remarkably, Rovers then went to Austria and earned a point against the highly rated Rapid Vienna, which all but guaranteed safe passage to the knockouts.

And tonight’s comprehensive victory over Borac – a team who had accumulated seven points ahead of their trip to Tallaght – sealed their spot, as the Hoops sit in sixth place going into the final round of games.

The top eight will progress automatically into the last 16, however, Rovers would probably need some type of positive result against Chelsea next week to have a chance of remaining in that bracket.

But Bradley’s side can finish no lower than 16th out of the 36-team league, which guarantees them a seeded berth should they move into the play-off stage.

Either way, for the first time ever an