Goalkeeper Conor Kearns says Shelbourne need to raise their game as Derry City test looms

Having won six games in a row in February/March, a run which gave the Reds a healthy lead at the top of the table, Shels may even be dislodged from the top by the time they play away to Derry City (7.45pm) on Monday night as second-placed Shamrock Rovers can move above them if they beat Waterford in the 5pm fixture.

For goalkeeper Kearns there’s the proud boast of a clean sheet in the last three games but points dropped since the March win at home to Dundalk – with just one win in seven for Damien Duff’s men – means they need a reboot.

“The manager has echoed this point more than anyone. It is round two in the league,” says Kearns, with Shels heading to Derry off the back of a 0-0 draw in Dundalk on Friday.

“It does not feel like it is a major thing or that is massively significant right now. Round three, round four, that is when it starts to matter.

“We have seen in this league over the last number of years that anyone can be top in April/ May. It is when it gets to the latter part of the season, that is when it matters.

“Right now, the priority is to put in better performances. We’ve done that in the last few weeks with Pat’s and Rovers, but on Friday we dipped a little bit. We were not the happiest with our own performance, but credit to Dundalk we got a good point out of it.

“We pride ourselves on being tough to score against, tough to beat. We probably went through a bit of a run where we were giving up sloppy goals, which was somewhat uncharacteristic for us.

“So, to get back-to-back clean sheets is a nice feeling and something we want to keep going.”

“Over the last couple of years people have looked at the expectation on Shelbourne differently to how we have looked upon it ourselves, so whatever people think about that game when we go up there (Derry), it does not affect our own approach to it.

“With the game being on TV, it is great for the league and it is great to be publicised, but that cannot affect how we approach the game. We are going up there with another level of ambition compared to a couple of years gone ago, because the team has improved.”

The Reds’ winning run came to a halt with a 0-0 draw at home to tonight’s opponents in Tolka Park last month, when a bug ravaged the Shels squad and forced players to play despite not being fully fit.

“Thankfully, this time we are going up there on an even playing field,” Kearns says.

“But the quality that Derry have, you have to be really on it, because you are never going to get an easy game up there. We are expecting a very tough game and we are looking forward to it.”

Derry City v Shelbourne

Live, Virgin Media Two, 7.45pm