'There's definitely been a recharge' - Shelbourne captain confident ahead of Champions League tie
And captain Mark Coyle feels there has been 'a recharge' among the squad since former boss Damien Duff's shock resignation last month.
Shels come into the first leg of their first round tie at Tolka Park on the back of two draws and a win in the League of Ireland Premier Division since O'Brien stepped up to fill the void left by Duff.
Linfield, on the other hand, only returned for pre-season three and a half weeks ago and have just two games under their belt. David Healy's side beat Welsh top flight side Haverfordwest County 4-0 on 28 June before losing the NIFL Charity Shield final to Dungannon Swifts on penalties last Friday.
O'Brien's permanent appointment in charge was confirmed before a well deserved home win against bottom club Cork City on the same night.
Naturally, the exit of Duff remained a talking point on the eve of a historic All Ireland clash on the European stage and Coyle was asked if there was a renewed sense of purpose since his departure.
'Yeah, look, it's obviously a new era. Our new gaffer is sitting beside me. And I just think that's what we're focused on, making new memories. And that's basically what we're excited for. And there's definitely been a recharge, you could say, or a change. And we're just looking forward to it now,' Coyle said.
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'It's been addressed that we obviously have huge respect and love for the ex-manager. But as I said now, we're excited for the new era, the gaffer here. It's been great. He's put his own stamp on things. And you can see that around the ground. There's obviously an excitement. And that, it's just about creating new memories now.'
O'Brien is the one tasked with inspiring a turnaround in Shels' season – they're currently fifth but only five adrift of second place – after taking on the mantle from assistant to Duff.
'Look, I think we've probably seen another side to him because now he is in charge,' Coyle said. 'From what I've seen he has got all the attributes to be a great manager. But it's down to us as players to make sure that happens for him.
'He gives us that leeway to take charge of it and make sure that we go out and perform. It's just been a good buzz and the excitement of this as well has added to that. It's just about putting in a performance and focusing on that now,' he added, citing his belief of the improvement in the squad.
Shels head coach Joey O'Brien. Grace Halton / INPHO Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
'Yeah, I definitely do. I think if you look across the whole season, to be honest, in a lot of games we were unlucky, we put in a lot of good performances and it's mainly been down to mistakes by ourselves.
'We have also been hit by injuries to big players, which didn't help our confidence along the way. As the gaffer said, we have a new clean bill of health and I feel like we are reaping the rewards of that now. Again, you are only as good as your last game, so it's about going out and showing that.'
The derby factor to this Champions League tie adds another enticing element, with Tolka Park a sell-out albeit with a reduced a capacity due to Uefa regulations regarding terraced areas.
Just shy of 300 travelling supporters will make their way south and while O'Brien admitted he has not watched much Irish League football other than required analysis of tomorrow's opponents, he is relishing the atmosphere and the occasion.
'It's a game that, especially here, we're looking to attack. We're going out to win the way we would against any team we play here, you know,' he said, insisting the 4-1 win Shamrock Rovers enjoyed over Larne in last season's Uefa Conference League would have 'no bearing' on a completely different challenge.
O'Brien also preferred not to focus too much on the concession of cheap goals throughout this season. 'Look, you can't keep dwelling on it and looking back, you just have to go onto the next game and be confident and attack it.
'As I said, our performances have been really good in the last three games, so that's the only thing you focus on, your performance, and hopefully if you get that right, the result follows.
'Ultimately when you get onto the pitch the two sets of players are feeling each other out and the game sort of moves on from there. I'm sure in European football, in my experience of it, you have some good halves and some bad halves. Ultimately when you are having a good half, you take advantage of that. Sometimes when you are in a bad half, you just stay in the game, knowing that it's going to turn around for you.
'That's something that we would have touched on last year with the lads. I think last year going into the game against [St Joseph's of] Gibraltar, we were probably lacking a little bit in experience.
'But I think that run of Gibraltar and then FC Zurich, we saw how good and bad football can be at European level, how ruthless it can be. We took great learnings from that to bring into this tie.'
Tomorrow – Shelbourne v Linfield, Live on RTÉ 2, 7.45pm.
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