STEPHEN Bradley believes Shamrock Rovers took their eye off the ball – but hopes Brian Cody can help them back to the top.
Bradley steered Rovers to a record-equalling four league titles in a row but were denied the chance to rewrite history last year by Shelbourne, their opponents tomorrow.
The 40-year-old has accepted responsibility for that but insisted there was a renewed focus at the club who enjoy a six-point advantage at the top of the table ahead of the resumption of the League of Ireland season.
Asked what he made of the defending champions who lie fifth, he said: “I looked at them before we played them but haven’t followed them or looked at them in any way, being honest.
“We took our eye off the ball on a few things last year. This year is full focus on us and what we do.
“A lot of things went wrong last year and we all needed to take ownership of that. Number one that starts with me.
“There were a few things we got a bit complacent with. You can’t afford to do that because this league doesn’t allow for it. Our full focus is completely on what we do.
“It’s easy to say the players were this and that but when things go wrong the first person you’ve to look at is yourself.
“Some things as manager and staff we didn’t do quite right last year and that needed to change.”
And he admitted that he was keen to learn from other successful bosses and was particularly taken with insights shared by Brian Cody – who led Kilkenny to 11 All-Ireland titles in 16 seasons – at a leadership talk hosted by South Dublin County Council.
Bradley said: “I think you have to look at all the codes and learn from the best in their field operating at an elite level.
“It’s not just football around the world and Europe. You watch Cork and Limerick go at each other in the hurling last week and it was an incredible level of skill, grit and determination. Tactically it had a bit of everything.
“If you can’t watch something like that and learn from the outside, you’re doing something wrong. You’ve got to be open to learning from all codes.
“Then you’re meeting people from different codes, picking their brains on what they do and how they continue to be successful.
“Myself, Stephen McPhail and Glenn Cronin were at a talk with the old Kilkenny manager Brian Cody last year.
“He gave a speech across the road which was brilliant to listen to. We could ask questions to pick his brains which was gold dust.
“You could see why he was so successful. Within five minutes, he had the room. He was so special.
“It was how he maintained standards and culture. It seemed he was a brilliant person to work with and want to work with.
“To have that sustained success, there was so much in it that we were talking notes all day.”
CODY’S CODE
Cody had 24 seasons in charge of the Cats and Bradley said: “You’ve to keep reinvesting and refreshing.
“He’s done that for so long it was important to listen to that and ask questions. We still go through the notes and talk about it.
“You can’t turn down opportunities like that. It’s brilliant to learn from people who’ve been there and done it, seeing what they’ve gone through and how they sustain success.
“We’ve a lot of people from different codes reaching out asking to speak with different teams. I take sessions and so do the staff.
“Often we have people in from business, either they own theirs, starting it up or company CEOs.
“They’ve wanted to see the environment of how we operate. That’s healthy because we learn from each other, if we’re doing well or not so well.
“Johnny Cooper was one I met quite regularly for coffees and chats. He was a big part of what that Jim Gavin team did. It was great. I’d love to meet Dessie Farrell.”
Meanwhile, Rovers have received a major boost after learning Lee Grace does not require back surgery. Bradley said: “We thought he was done for the season.
“He displaced a few discs and they were really worried about one but thankfully it settled. The specialist was happy for him to come back. It’s a huge boost.”
