‘I am a bit hoarse now but sometimes you just need to let rip’ – Damien Duff’s hairdryer treatment bumps Shels

After a scrappy and scoreless first 45 minutes, Shels needed something different if they were to get a win which they did, Liam Burt scoring one and claiming an assist for a second, an own goal, to fire the Reds to a 2-1 victory.

That win for Shels and a loss for Derry City at home to Galway United leaves Duff’s men seven points clear of second-placed Sligo Rovers. Derry are in third place, eight points adrift of the leaders, with Shels playing the Candystripes on Monday.

But Duff admits that it was a struggle for his side in a sub-par first half with home truths needed at the break.

“I don't think we kept the ball well at all in the first half, it was like a chore just to move for each other and make sharp angles," said Duff.

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"We found a way, we wasted 45 minutes, as in the first half, but they turned around the performance a lot in the second half and played well in large parts of it.

“We had a rattle off them at half time and they came out and played with more gears, I wasn't worried about them without the ball, I thought we played with an edge and an energy defending but it's all about what you do with the football and we were a lot better in the second half.”

He resisted the obvious temptation to change personnel at the break and trusted his under-performing players to do better in the second half – after some harsh words.

"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, it's up to the staff to make those decisions and then dovetail together. At half-time Joey dealt with the tactics more and I dealt with the shouting and screaming. That's why I am a bit hoarse now but sometimes you just need to let rip,” said Duff.

“I never said I always shout and scream, I rarely do but the guys needed energy, sometimes a bit of a wake-up call, the melee just before half-time, did that wake them up somewhat? They needed a rattle, it's rarely done, we did it, dovetailed well and I guess Joey brought the calm back.

"It wasn't expectations of winning the game, or was trying to be around the top of the table at the end of the league, it was starting off very slowly, I smelled it off them and no matter how much you warn them, players will still think they know better, it's nothing to do with expectation or pressure or anything like that. We started poorly but they responded, which is what good teams do.”

Duff was aware that Derry – tipped as the main challengers to Shamrock Rovers this season – had lost at home to Galway, but the Shels supremo still expects a test from City in Tolka Park on Monday.

"It's a long, long way to go, they have unbelievable quality, footballing gods in this country, you know who they are. There's a gap there, they have too much quality to write them off,” he said.

“We diced with changing the team on Friday night but the guys had such a big win against Pat's that we thought we couldn't so we will just adapt now, see who is sore, who's suspended. We have a plan, we always look a month to six weeks in advance, they will be in the recovery room on Saturday, I will have a separate meeting, I won't see the players on Saturday, they need a break from me, and Sunday it's back on the pitch, name the team. It's non-stop but enjoyable.”