Bohemians fan-turned-player Adam McDonnell on Shamrock Rovers rivalry

Adam McDonnell’s phone has been hopping again this week.

With tickets for Dalymount Park games few and far between this season, he regularly gets tapped up for any spares that might be floating around.

And the demand spikes whenever the big derby game comes around.

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McDonnell grew up supporting the Gypsies and taking in games with his dad, before moving to England with Ipswich Town, Aldershot and Boreham Wood.

He said: “As a fan, to be fair it was different years ago, it wasn’t like it is now. I’m getting 50 people texting me every week for a ticket.

“I don’t think it was like that as much.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m getting messages off people I haven’t heard of since I was eight or nine years of age looking for tickets.

“It’s hard to please everyone, but that’s a good thing. Everywhere in the league is the same. It’s great. I wouldn’t think it was like that four or five years ago. We need to keep that going.”

Having been on the other side of the advertising boards, McDonnell knows just how special a game against Shamrock Rovers is to the Bohs faithful.

Now that he is a player, however, he has to look at things far more clinically.

“I grew up supporting Bohs when I was younger, so I obviously knew, or I thought I knew how big a game it was,” he said.

“Now that I’ve signed, I realise how big the game is.

“When you are chatting to the fans during the week, you know it means a lot to them.

“But at the same time you don’t want to get too emotional with the game. This whole week has been built up the same as if it was any other team. We haven’t changed anything.

“But we know how much it means to the fans. It’s a big game and everyone is looking forward to it.”

The pressure is on Bohs to deliver tonight. A pair of 2-0 defeats to Rovers – home and away – this season have put a dent in an otherwise excellent campaign to date.

“It’s a massive game. Obviously we haven’t taken points off them yet this season, but we did well in the first game especially, in Dalymount, we started well,” reasoned McDonnell.

“I just think we need to take our chances, we need to be better in both boxes.

“We know what Rovers are like, they have good individual players, they are a great team, we need to respect them.

“We can take confidence from the other two games, but we just need to be better in both boxes.”

Bohs felt hard-done-by after their Tallaght defeat, with complaints made that Rovers were awarded an offside goal and the Gypsies denied a clear-cut penalty.

McDonnell doesn’t want there to be any excuses this time around.

“I know the last game, we were talking about certain decisions, but even in the first game, the first 35 minutes, I think we were the better team,” he said.

“We had a few chances that we should have taken. But they got a goal probably at a good time for them and probably a bad time for us, going in at half-time.

“Hopefully that changes. You can bring luck into it if you want, but when it comes down to it, in a derby, it’s about the team that wants it the most and the team that plays better on the night.

“We need to take confidence from the last two games. We have been good in certain passages, but we need to do it over a longer period, not just 20 or 30 minutes each half.

“Everyone is looking forward to the game. It’s good to get a break and everyone is bouncing into the game.”

McDonnell spent a few days in Gran Canaria, giving his batteries a recharge that he didn’t realise was needed until there was a break in play.

It’s been a relentless campaign so far, with 20 games played and just 16 remaining for a Bohs side that is eight points off the pace with a game-in-hand over the clubs above them.

“I had a few days off. Me and the missus went away. But it’s good to come back in,” said McDonnell.

“It’s good over there, but after a few days you are looking forward to coming back into training.

“Especially the game we knew we were coming back into, it made it a little easier and more exciting.

“It’s been a good week’s training. Everyone enjoyed the break, but it’s good to get the head back down and crack on.”

He added: “Obviously we’ve a good squad and it’s been rotated a bit. A few lads have played more than others.

“But 20 games in, it feels like it’s gone quick. When you are in that rhythm of playing every week you don’t feel it. When the break came I did notice that it was a bit tough, the last few games.

“It was good to get the few days off. But after four or five days you are itching to get back in. It was good to get the break, but it’s been a good week’s training.”