Shamrock Rovers may have come away from their European campaign with plenty of credit but their start to the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division season raises some concerns ahead of a "vitally important" clash against St Patrick's Athletic on Friday, according to Paul Corry.
A 2-1 defeat at Sligo Rovers on Monday has left Stephen Bradley's injury-depleted side bottom of the table, albeit having played a game fewer than all but Cork City at this incredibly early juncture of the season.
While it's too early to make any longer-term judgement about the Tallaght-based outfit's prospects for the season, Friday's looming home encounter with the Saints takes on an increasing degree of urgency, considering how strong some of the expected frontrunners, like Stephen Kenny's side and reigning champions Shelbourne, are likely to be.
"But it's vitally important that they get a win pretty soon and they get a big win just to kickstart things and to get over that bad start that they've had.
"You can't afford for Pat's or Shels to get out in front, whether that be six, nine, 12 points ahead because they have more quality in their squads this year so they're probably not going to slip up like they did last year.
"So there's a bit of concern. I'd have a bit of concern amongst the Shamrock Rovers squad at this moment and I don't think they're playing at the level that we have seen in previous years.
"Even just looking at the starting 11 last night, if I was on that Sligo team, I'd probably look at it and go, 'We've got an opportunity here to turn them over', and I don't think there would have been too many times over the last 12-24 months where teams would've had that thinking going into a game."
However, Shamrock Rovers have not been strangers to slow starts, including during their four-in-a-row title run and even during dips and setbacks in his tenure, Bradley has always tended to accentuate the positives when speaking to the media.
But how different would his message be in the privacy and confines of the dressing room?
Former Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Richie Towell, who is intent on carrying on his playing career after leaving the Hoops in the winter, offered his insight on what might be spoken about behind-the-scenes at Tallaght Stadium right now.
"Stephen would be a really honest manager. He'll go in and he'll tell the lads what they could have done better, but he'll also tell them the positives to take from the game and that's what you need in modern day management," he said, also outlining how the manager leans on stats and metrics in his feedback to players.
"You can't just go in with the stick all the time and start battering lads because sometimes lads start to switch off.
"You have to be very conscious of different personalities, how lads are going to take it on board.
"I'm sure you'll see Stephen comes out and he'll give the positives in the media and stuff like that. But in-house, he'll be really honest with players and tell them where they're after going wrong because as a footballer that's what you want.
"You want to know where you've gone wrong and where you can improve and I'm sure Stephen has done that again this season."
