JAKE MULRANEY has praised Stephen Kenny for instilling massive belief in his St Pat’s players.
The Saints thumped champions Shamrock Rovers 3-0 at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night to maintain their impressive resurgence under gaffer Kenny.
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Winger Mulraney scored a brilliant brace having also provided the assist from a corner for skipper Joe Redmond’s opener after 42 seconds.
A fourth win on the spin moves Pat’s to within five points of third place with a game in hand.
Kenny’s in-form Saints now head to Tolka Park tomorrow night for a mouthwatering clash with leaders Shelbourne.
On Kenny, Mulraney said: “I say it every time. He’s very brave, he doesn’t care who it is.
“He brought us to Tallaght expecting us to win — something we should expect every week with the players we have.
“At the start of the season it felt a bit different because we weren’t playing very well. Now we are going out thinking that we can beat anyone. We just have to turn up on the day.”
There were strong performances right throughout the Saints side as they scarcely allowed Rovers into the game.
Mulraney was they key name on the scoreboard but hailed keeper Joe Anang and team-mates Chris Forrester, Jamie Lennon and Brandon Kavanagh for their contributions.
He added: “Obviously, in terms of output it was nice to get two goals.
“But, overall, I don’t think it was my best performance. Collectively, I thought we were very, very good.
“The boys at the back, big Joe in goal, Gitzy and Lenny were excellent and Brando was excellent too.
“Then us three up top, I thought we were lively.”
Saints came close to making the Conference League league phase this summer, beating Vaduz and Sabah before bowing out in the play-off to Basaksehir Istanbul.
Third from bottom in June having lost at home to Dundalk, the only way is up for St Pat’s with qualifying for Europe in 2025 the goal.
Mulraney said: “That was the aim when it ended in Istanbul, to go and try to nick it at the end of the year.
“We were written off about three months ago. We were in a relegation battle because of how we were playing.
“We are back in it now and we just have to keep it going over these last five games.
“As soon as the gaffer came in with the ideas he set and the players he brought in, after the first few games we thought, ‘This is going to be good’. Thankfully it has been good so far.”
And Mulraney cannot wait for tonight’s tussle with Shels.
He said: “Yes, a big game against the leaders.
“They’ve a good side and a great gaffer and it should be a good spectacle hopefully for the league.
“In these Dublin derbies, form goes out the window. They are hectic and lively — especially at Tolka Park.”
