UCD - Time for the Next Step

Firstly, I must apologise for the title of this post. It really sounds like one of those God-awful Fianna Fáil election lines from the middle of the last decade. It's "A Lot Done, More to Do"'s younger cousin. I've pointed it out, so get over it! In this blog, I will briefly review UCDs' 2012 League of Ireland season and discuss the perils that the team might face in 2013 if they cannot learn their lessons from 2012.

2011's excellent end of season form saw many predicting a better 2012. Defender Mark Langtry told Belfield FM in February that the confidence in the camp was high and he predicted that a Setanta Sports Cup place was within The Students' grasp, and claimed that a European place couldn't be ruled out if luck was on their side. The media was less positive and Extratime.ie predicted that mid-table was the best that College could hope to achieve, but that 10th was more likely.

2012 turned out to be, in many ways, a mirror image of 2011 for UCD, in that it started poorly but improved drastically in its second half. An opening day victory against Cork in March was the only victory the team would record in the league until August. On the 10th of August, UCD found themselves bottom of the table and confidence must have been extremely low as the team bus drove up Richmond Road that evening. A late Paul Corry strike secured UCD's first away victory of the season and it turned College's year on its head. The team would go on to record five victories in their next eight league games, including a superb victory at The Brandywell, to secure their Premier League status for another season.

Two of the key components in UCD successful retention of their Premier League status were their central midfield and their manager. Paul Corry and Paul O'Conor played a huge part in keeping UCD competitive as the team was gelling throughout the first third of the season. Corry's goal against Shels in August was quite literally the turning point in the season for UCD. The Dubliner's departure to Sheffield Wednesday in late August put even more pressure on O'Conor. He stepped up to the plate however and put in a number of commanding performances towards the end of the season from central midfield. It seems Shamrock Rovers are preparing to make a move for O'Conor and that would be a huge loss for the club if he was to go. UCD without Corry and O'Conor in 2013 will be a lesser force and they need to do all they can to keep the latter.

Manager Martin Russell is due a lot of the credit for the form which UCD found late on in the season. He left himself open to criticism early in the season for sticking to a formula which wasn't putting points on the board. UCD found themselves close to the relegation zone throughout this period, and fell to the bottom of the table when Monaghan were forced to pull out of the league in June.

It is to Russell's credit that he didn't change the type of football UCD were playing however, and the heavy, demoralising defeats of 2011 did not make a reappearance during 2012. Once the team began to gel, they were one of the form teams in the league. They won six of their last eleven, only losing two. To put this in context, league winners Sligo also managed to win six of their last eleven games. The football UCD have played under Russell has led to interest in him from teams challenging for the league, including Shamrock Rovers.

Russell's guidance is crucial not only for the senior team at Belfield, but also for the underage teams. The progression of underage players into the senior team is testament to that fact. On top of that, Russell has also been keen to visit schools in the locality to coach young children. This is an important step in boosting the profile of a team traditionally seen as the worst supported team in the league. It shows just how dedicated Russell is to UCD, when his work outside the senior team is compared to that of his predecessors. This is the type of manager that Shamrock Rovers would love to get their hands on, in light of their recent investment in their academy. His departure from UCD would be a disaster for the south Dublin club.

UCD fans will need to be realistic heading into next season. The likely departure of O'Conor will mean that it will be difficult to build on this season's performance. However, retaining Premier League status for the 2014 season is a very achievable goal, especially if Martin Russell is at the helm. Check this blog closer to March for a comprehensive preview of the 2013 Airtricity League Premier Division.