‘You’ve got to understand their point of view’ – Stephen Bradley hints at reason over lack of state funding for league

The Shamrock Rovers boss was frustrated by the surface that was a hindrance during his team’s scoreless draw with league leaders Shelbourne, accepting that the spectacle would turn away first-timers.

He noted news reports from Monday detailing how Kosovo have secured a €200m investment to improve their facilities in a partnership between their football association and the government, backed by FIFA and UEFA.

Today's Sport News in 90 Seconds - 23rd April

The FAI’s attempts to build on the €863m infrastructure plan they produced last year have been complicated by off-the-field difficulties and the Oireachtas Committee hearings that were followed by the departure of CEO Jonathan Hill.

A protracted attempt to find a new senior team manager has also distracted from pressing issues and that’s why Bradley is reluctant to bash the Government for their inactivity, hinting that the FAI haven’t helped themselves.

“We’ve all been banging the drum and need to keep banging it,” he said. “I don’t know the ins and outs with the Government, they need to be comfortable handing over money to the right people.

“Today, it was Kosovo, was it? They’ve committed €200m to stadiums. In ten years, we’ll be wondering why they’ve gone ahead and we’re still stuck. We need good investment.

"Crowds are good. I believe the teams are good. Managers are good. We need help with facilities, everyone across the board, Like you see tonight, this [pitch] doesn’t help anyone. If you were here for the first time, I don’t think you’d be coming back.

“To be fair to the Government, you’ve got to be very comfortable on where you are handing that money to and understand that it’s going to get spent in the right way. I understand that. You’ve got to understand their point of view as well. I hope it is [sorted] because it’s the one thing holding this league back.”

Bradley knew the Shels game was going to be a problem when he noted midfielders Dylan Watts and Conan Noonan, two technical operators, struggling to control simple passes.

“It's up there with one of the worst we’ve played on,” he said.

“You could see the ball as it was moving, bouncing off the sand. I heard they put a few tonnes of sand on it during the week, but it killed it really.

“You see players having to take three or four touches to get a pass, it was all over the pitch. We've Conan and Dylan Watts in there, two of the most naturally gifted players you'll get, it's taken them so much time to actually pass the ball. Yeah, it was really poor, it definitely played a massive part in the quality of the game.

“Look, I know we've had the weather we've had, but it's definitely not helped tonight in terms of any sort of spectacle. There's nothing we can do about it, but it's really poor.”