Conor Kane warns Drogheda United not to underestimate bottom side Sligo Rovers ahead of clash
And that should ensure table-toppers
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Conor Kane of Drogheda United has urged his team-mates not to underestimate Sligo Rovers
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The Drogs face bottom of the league Sligo Rovers on Friday night
The Boynesiders are at the summit, ahead of
As recently as August, Drogheda were propping up the table - before, ironically, a 7-0 win over the Bit O' Red saw them leapfrog Dundalk - and still needed a play-off to stay up.
And Kane, 26, said: 'I kind of am surprised to see where they are because obviously you know players from playing against them over the last couple of years.
'But it just shows how competitive the league has gone over the last year or so
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'We were in that boat last year, we know how things can change over the course of a season. It only takes a couple of results to switch things around.
'They score a lot of goals. It's going to be a very tough game especially away from home so we'll have to be on it.'
Whilst there might be a sharp contrast in their final league position of ninth in 2024 and their current lofty perch, the real turnaround came about last summer.
Back then, they brought in Luke Dennison, James Bolger, Elicha Ahui, Shane Farrell and Douglas-James Taylor, on loan from Walsall.
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They took 17 points from their final 12 games last season, just three fewer than their first dozen matches this term and, of course, won the FAI Cup in between.
Assistant boss Daire Doyle said: 'I think if you're looking back to that period from July onwards, we haven't lost many games.
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'We've performed really well in almost all the games that we've played in. We've been a difficult side to play against. We've offered a lot of threat going forward in those games as well.
'Our defensive record is excellent. And on the flip of that we're causing teams a number of problems with how we play and the problems that we cause them.
'So we have done that consistently since last July.
'In fact, we probably feel that we've built on that a little bit more going into this season because we've been able to add that depth and strength to our squad.
'Because you look at the players that we have missing in the first four or five weeks. Lads like Elicha, lads like Dougie, Josh Harris who's missing now and Paul Doyle who missed a large chunk of the season.
'So we've got that squad there now that's capable to step in when there are any injuries or any suspensions going forward.'
It also helps that they turned full-time in the off-season. Doyle said: 'The way things were, you were literally leaving the house at 7am and getting home at 10:30pm.
'We're in a position now where we're in the same boat with every other team in the league.
' We've added extra little bits to our training in regards we're able to do a little bit more early in the week when there's not a midweek game.
We're able to do a bit more analysis and do some presentations on opposition that we might not have had time to do in previous seasons.
'From a personal side, I think my wife and kids have probably seen more of me this year than they have in the last three years.
'There's days when you get your work done that you can go for a walk in the evening for half an hour with your wife and your kids. In previous years, really, you did not get the chance.'
And Kane added: 'I was in work for 9am and you're not coming home until about 9 or 9:30pm. You're doing that five days a week and trying to perform on a Friday and, if you have a game, on a Monday
'It was stressful but I was well used to it at that stage. But I'm getting used to this life as well. You have your life back again.'
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