Saturday’s match in Dalymount Park kicks off at 3 pm. Coverage on LOITV

We’re back in league action this week after the international break with one of the toughest fixtures on the calendar taking on Bohs away in Dalymount. What have you and the team done over the break to prepare for the clash?

They’ve worked really, really hard. We’ve continued our training, we’ve allowed them to have at least a weekend off but other than that we’ve been flat out at it where we’ve added in extra training sessions. We’re working on not just the physical aspects of our game but also the mental aspects of our game. Last week we talked about adversity and trying to deal with setbacks and how to have a strong mental approach to how you perform in your life. 

Despite not coming away with a result in our last game, we performed very well. Can the team use that performance as well as the rivalry of the Dublin Derby as motivation to get that first league win?

Yes, it’s one of those things where we’ve performed well in nearly all of our games this year but just haven’t had the results so it’s not just on the physical aspect of it but also the mental aspect of it. I think the players will take a lot from the mental training that they’ve done over the last couple of weeks. 

The last time we played in Dalymount the spoils were shared in a 0-0 draw and this season Bohs haven’t conceded many goals at home, so it’s a place where they definitely enjoy playing. How do you and the team take advantage of our attacking threat, such as Joy, to get us on the front foot against a good Bohs defence?

Yes, we’ve worked on that during this week. Normally we do most of our pattern of play, our shape the night before a game but we started during the week. We’ve been working on our shape, particularly how to get at Bohs because they haven’t really conceded many goals. They’ve been quite similar to us in our games this year where they’ve come off losing 1-0 maybe but they’ve actually played pretty well and created the most chances during their own games, so for us it’s just trying to start on the front foot and make sure that the attacking training that we’ve done over the last week or so comes off and we can be the ones that go and get that first goal.

Alannah McEvoy has moved to the other side of the Liffey since we last took on Bohs and we know the quality that she possesses. Are there any others that the team needs to keep an eye on as well as her?

Yes, they have good strength and depth throughout the team from Lisa Murphy at centre-half, then you have Tiegan (Ruddy) who will probably be a holding midfielder for them and as well as Alannah you have Katie Malone up top, so the whole spine of the team is very strong. We’ll prepare as best as we can to deal with their threats as well as trying to see how we can attack ourselves.

The FAI Cup 1st Round draw took place today and we will face Wexford at home. What are your initial thoughts on that draw?

I suppose the most important thing is getting a home draw. We like playing in Tallaght Stadium, it’s a fantastic arena to be able to go and play football and it’s the surface that we really, really like. It’s not going to be easy, Wexford have put it up to us in Tallaght Stadium. We know it’s still a tough draw but it’s one that we’ll still look forward to.

Is everyone fit for the game or are there any injury updates?

There are a few still undecided; Amanda, the goalkeeper, has a bit of a knee injury. We’ve had a few outs over the last few days, Shauna Fox has had a groin injury, and Maria Reynolds has had a knee injury. They’re slowly working back through training so it will be tomorrow’s training session before we figure out who we have available, but other than that I think we’re ok.