Kelly starts exodus from United ahead of clash with UCD

Date Published: {J}

Dara Bradley

UNDER pressure Galway United manager Seán Connor expects that up to three players of the starting xv for tonight’s crunch clash with UCD at Terryland Park (7.45pm) will be playing their last game for the club.

 Killybegs man Shaun Kelly or ‘Donegal Shaun’ as he is known, has already departed Galway this week, “by mutual consent”, and is reported to be in contract talks with other Airtricity League clubs – he is the first to go after the club issued a statement last Wednesday saying that all players in paid employment are free to leave in the transfer window due to an issue over unpaid wages.

More will follow him out the gap after tonight, said Connor, as the crisis deepens at Terryland. “I’d expect that one or two and possibly three players will be playing their last game for us. There’s been interest in a few players. It’s disappointing to see players leave but if players’ contracts are broken, if they haven’t been paid, then you can’t blame anyone for leaving. I just hope all the players keep me informed of what they are doing and in fairness they’ve done that,” he said.

United are also dogged with injuries for a match that Connor is targeting as a realistic chance to ‘stop the rot’ and bring to an end a horrible and unprecedented 15 straight defeats.

Defender Shaun Maher remains a doubt due to an ankle injury; Shane Keogh (foot), Joseph Yoffe, Jonathan Keane, and Seán Kelly are all ruled out and Connor said he may have just two or possibly three substitutes on the bench.

“I’m not putting players on the bench just for the sake of it – they have to be able to compete at this level,” he said.

With all the doom and gloom around Terryland, and with the club jumping from one crisis to the next, is it difficult to prepare his players for what is almost a must-win game if United are to have any chance of moving off the bottom of the league table?

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.