Rodney McAree feels 'league has to take responsibility' after Dungannon Swifts' hectic fixture schedule
Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree feels “the schedule could have been a little bit kinder to us” after playing four matches in 10 days to round out their season – and believes “the league has to take responsibility” for future fixture decisions.
After losing the Irish Cup final to Coleraine on May 2, Dungannon entered the Premiership’s European play-offs seeking to claim the final continental spot.
McAree’s men defeated Carrick Rangers and Cliftonville before falling short against Linfield – the Blues will once again compete in Europe after winning 3-1 thanks to Matthew Fitzpatrick’s hat-trick at Windsor Park.
The Swifts contested three play-off matches across six days as they completed another successful season and McAree wonders if more could have been done to address their workload.
"The schedule, we don't want to use it as an excuse, but to give the clubs an option to vote for when the final is going to be on, I think the league has to take responsibility and maybe make that decision, take it out of the hands of the clubs,” McAree told the club’s media channel. “We were never going to win that vote being in an Irish Cup final, we had to deal with it and we kept going right to the end.
"We didn't deserve anything out of the game, Linfield were worthy winners, but the schedule could have been a little bit kinder to us.”
Dungannon have now recorded consecutive top-half Premiership finishes and appeared in back-to-back Irish Cup finals, establishing their spot amongst Northern Ireland’s elite.
Having enjoyed a taste of success recently, McAree has challenged the Co Tyrone club to maintain their high standards and continue pushing for more.
"I'm proud of everybody around the club,” he added. “You look at the crowd we had there, the support has been fantastic throughout the season.
"They were brilliant in the Irish Cup final and have been brilliant in the last three matches.
"Everybody at the club has worked tirelessly to get us to where we are, and now it's important we try to maintain it and keep those standards.
"It's getting more and more difficult but the challenge is we want to try and stay where we're at and competing in occasions like these more often."