Tennent’s Irish Cup sixth round: Insitute v Linfield (today, Drumahoe, 3pm)
INSTITUTE manager Kevin Deery insists his players will have no inferiority complex against Irish Cup opponents Linfield this afternoon and feels the gap in quality won’t be as wide as many people believe.
The former Derry City ace has been a massive hit since taking over the Drumahoe club last season.
Forced into retirement at just 29, Deery took over Intermediate club Trojans and won two cups and the league championship in his first season before attracting the attention of Championship club Institute.
A disciple of former Derry City boss Stephen Kenny, Deery isn’t ruling out a sixth round upset today.
“There isn’t a big difference between the teams,” said the 33-year-old.
“Now, you’ll see a difference in full-time players… I watch both divisions [Premiership and The Championship] quite regularly and most of the goals are conceded through teams going asleep or having a bad moment.
"If your concentration is right and you play to your maximum there is a real opportunity you can win against any team that you play against.”
With Institute having a spare Saturday last weekend, Deery attended Linfield’s 4-1 win over Dungannon Swifts at Stangmore Park and remains unfazed by the challenge they'll present in Drumahoe today.
“Linfield are a great club – don’t get me wrong – but they’re a part-time club. They maybe have some full-time players but we train three nights a week as well.”
Institute, who narrowly missed out on promotion to senior football last season, have lost some precious ground at the top of The Championship.
They suffered back-to-back league defeats to Lurgan Celtic and PSNI last month and trail leaders Warrenpoint by 13 points and Ballyclare Comrades by seven.
In describing his coaching philosophy, Deery said: “I like people who take risks. I couldn’t let myself be one of those coaches who kick the ball and get after it.
"There’s no joy in that. You have to challenge people and challenge yourself to play the right way, as I see it. Obviously all coaches are different.
“We’re in a difficult league in terms of the way we like to play – we’ve probably drawn too many games this year and up until a fortnight ago we were going really well.
“But we’re certainly not far away and we look forward to testing ourselves against Linfield. I’m confident in our players and believe it won’t be as convincing as a lot of people think.”
Michael McCrudden returned from a spell in Ballinamallard United this season and has notched 10 goals for ‘Stute, while centre back Stephen O’Donnell has popped up with some important goals this season.
Niall Grace, who almost died after suffering a head injury on a night out in Derry last year, is back to full fitness and has been a “great asset” to the team this year.
Deery says it’s imperative his players match Linfield physically and meet them head on, particularly in the early stages of today's cup clash.
“Linfield are very good at set pieces and their delivery from wide areas is good, and they have real aggression in the box. That will be a big test for us.
“You can’t predict a game of football but we certainly need to step up and be man enough to defend set pieces.
“I know Linfield will come with the attitude expecting to get a result. First and foremost, we have to be physically ready to match them and show them that we’re not inferior to them and show that we want to be beat them.
"Hopefully we can show moments of quality and get through a tough tie. I feel it’s a good opportunity for the press and they might be surprised by the standard of play that we produce at times.”
Deery was a precocious talent who made 302 appearances for the Candystripes during a 13-year period.
He reluctantly retired four years ago after a series of operations on his troublesome left knee.
“I always wanted to be involved in football management – even in my early playing days that’s all I wanted to do,” he said.
“I was going to stay in the game one way or the other. Coaching is a wee bit less enjoyable and can be stressful at times but it’s an opportunity to follow a path that I enjoy.”
