DARREN Murphy believes Stephen Small’s resignation from Donegal Celtic has made Dungannon’s trip to Suffolk Road a lot more daunting this afternoon.
Small called time on his tenure at Celtic last Sunday – citing the club’s poor run of form and personal reasons for his exit.
Ironically, 24 hours after his departure the Wee Hoops recorded their first win of the season against Lisburn Distillery in the County Antrim Shield.
Murphy – whose side are coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Coleraine seven days ago – admits he is wary of another potential DC backlash.
“It is always difficult going to Donegal Celtic, but it is going to be even harder after Stephen’s departure,” he said.
“It is strange, when a manager leaves it sometimes raises the players’ performances.
“They are out to impress whoever the new manager will be, and you probably saw that in the Shield game.
“I was at that game and they deserved to win. They are now into a semi-final and they will be confident.
“I feel for Stephen Small because he has probably switched on Ceefax on Monday night and wondered why the players couldn’t do that for him.
“But that’s football.”
Reflecting on his side’s defeat to Coleraine last weekend, Murphy said: “It simply wasn’t good enough.
“We went from the highs of beating Crusaders 2-0 to the lows of losing to Coleraine. The manner of the defeat was disappointing and I am expecting a response on Saturday.”
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