Title-winning boss Stephen Bradley says he is ‘honoured’ to share the stage with some of the League of Ireland’s greatest managers.
With two games to go, Shamrock Rovers have been crowned champions for the third season running.
It is the club’s 20th league crown and the club crest will soon have a second star above it to represent that fact.
Only the Hoops’ four-in-a-row team of the 1980s, Dundalk under Stephen Kenny, Waterford in the 1960s and Cork United in the 1940s have won three successive titles
Jim McLaughlin was Rovers manager for three of those four titles while Ireland boss Kenny won three on the spin with the Lilywhites in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Joining them, Bradley said today: ‘It’s an honour. When we came into the club it was something I said to the staff that I would love to be able to put the second star on the jersey.
“It's something that’s there forever and something we can be remembered for. That was always the aim - to try and win as many titles as early as possible and thankfully we've been able to do three in a row.
“Jim McLaughlin would be regarded as the best Rovers manager of all time and Stephen Kenny would be up there with one of the best, if not the best, in the league.
“It's an unbelievable honour for myself but obviously it's not just me. But to be put in that bracket in terms of titles, it's incredible to put the second star on.”
Bradley was true to his word when he claimed he wouldn’t watch Derry’s must-win game away to Sligo Rovers last night.
He went to Tolka Park instead to scout UCD against Shelbourne as Rovers play the Students in their final game of the season on Sunday week.
But while Bradley turned off the notifications on his phone, he still found it impossible to avoid updates from the Showgrounds.
“I picked the most vacant area in Tolka but somehow everyone was shouting ‘nil all, nil all’,” he laughed.
“I had to get up and walk around but everywhere I went in Tolka I was getting the updates, so I didn't need the notifications to be honest.
“Some man who was sitting beside me said congratulations when there was 10 minutes left.
“I didn't want to hear it, so I just got up and left because I thought I'd keep hearing it. Then my wife rang me on the way home and said it was over.”
Asked to identify the results in the season that he felt were key to the title win, Bradley picked out the recent win over Shelbourne and the win over Derry City in Tallaght in the middle of the campaign.
The Rovers manager said: “Obviously Shels two weeks ago and the last kick of the game was a big moment.
“We’re 2-1 down and if we lose that game, momentum changes and momentum is hard to stop in football. The character we showed that day was incredible. We’d worked so hard to get to that point.
“Considering what stage of the season it was and the impact it would have had on us and teams around us, Rory’s goal at the death was a massive moment in the race.”
And on the 1-0 win over the Candystripes in May, Bradley added: “The first-half they were the better team.
“We had to dig in and in the second half we came into the game and won. That showed the characteristics of the team and what you need to win big games.
“That was an important win. Also Shels away when Aaron [Greene] scored the last kick of the game - it always seems to be Shels.
“But even when we drew in Drogheda the message in the dressing room was that this could be the point to win us the league. Every point is important and we felt 75 points was going to be it this year.”
