Mark Timlin Hates Looking At The League Table Because St Pat's Are Better Than A Mid-table Side

  • Fri, Aug 26, 2016 @ 9:27
FROM:

Former Derry city ace Timlin feels Pats should be much higher than sixth but results must improve.

MARK TIMLIN hates looking at the league table because he believes St Pat's are better than a mid-table team.

But he knows they need results to prove it.

The Saints are currently in sixth place in the Premier Division and are into the last eight of the FAI Cup as they look to make a late-season challenge to qualify for Europe.

Ex-Derry City ace Timlin said: "It's hard to take, every time you look at the league table. I never thought I'd be looking at it and be, ‘Jesus, we're sixth or seventh, we shouldn't be that far off'.

"For the whole group and the staff and fans, it has been just such a frustrating season.

"With the players in the squad we have, we shouldn't be halfway down the table at all.

"We should be right up there. But we've got such a hard job ahead of us to get into Europe.

"We shouldn't be that far off but unfortunately that's where it is and we have to finish the season strongly.

"But, come the end of the season, hopefully it reads a bit better and does tell the truth."

The recent form shown by Liam Buckley's men is promising with ten points from a possible 12, though their displays earlier in the campaign left them playing catch-up.

Timlin added: "At the start of the season, we were leaking a lot of goals, we were trying to overplay at times as well.

"I think teams had copped on to us, to be honest, and we were playing into their hands.

"They were setting up traps for us and it was naive for us to go out and overplay and concede goals.

"We've been harder to beat in recent weeks. We've been in tight games whereas, earlier on, we'd not had the bottle and would end up losing or not picking up the win.

"But now we've been grinding out wins when we're not playing well. I think that's a good sign."

The low point was losing 5-1 away to Bohemians - their opponents at Richmond Park this evening.

Timlin admits it is a game he wants to erase from his memory.

He said: "That was a disgrace, to be honest. It was a Dublin derby and I don't think there was a tackle put in on our behalf, never mind a performance.

"We feel we definitely owe them one."


Next Fixture

Drogheda United / March 29th @ 7:45pm
Competition: League
Venue: Weavers Park
 
Team Pld Pts
Shelbourne616
Derry City611
Sligo Rovers69
Waterford FC68
Galway United FC67
Bohemian FC57
Shamrock Rovers56
St Patrick's Athletic66
Drogheda United54
Dundalk52