SEÁNI Maguire understands the only way to put a Cork in fans’ frustrations is to start delivering wins.
Cork City had their lowest gate of the season on Monday night, with just 1,815 turning out to Turner’s Cross to see Djenairo Daniels scoring an injury-time equaliser to save a point against Drogheda United.
The point was welcome for a team that have won just twice in the league all season, but still leaves newly-promoted City bottom of the table by four points ahead of tonight’s clash with St Pat’s.
And there were plenty of disgruntled supporters.Most of the displeasure was aimed at the club’s hierarchy, as chants of ‘we want our club back’ were heard, as well as complaints about the pricing with tickets now costing €25.
But striker Maguire — a league and Cup winner during his first stint at the club — knows how everything can change if the team on the pitch starts delivering.
He said: “Look, I can sense their frustration, it’s their club. They’ve supported them for years, they go to every game, they spend their well-earned money.
“And when they see the club they love at the bottom of the league, it’s not going to be nice.
“I don’t think it’s coming from a lack of effort, every single player is working their socks off every week to make sure we’re getting points on the board.
“I’ve been at the club through the best days and best years. If we can get the crowd behind us, behind the players, it will do a lot for us because I feel when you have Turner’s Cross rocking, it can give us that edge.
“That falls into the players’ hands, we are the only people who can get us out of this situation because the manager picks 11 players, 16 players if required to turn things around.
“The only way to get the fans happy and optimistic is getting performances on the pitch and winning games.”
Maguire — who returned to City last August having been part of their golden era in 2016 and 2017 — understands this season has been a letdown so far.
He added: “We’ve only won two games all season and it’s not been good enough.
“It can become a sort of mental thing, mind over matter, when things aren’t going your way, you can start to feel sorry for yourself, especially with a young group now.
“But we can’t really dwell on the past, we can only deal with what is in the present and the future.”
City have performed slightly better of late — hitting 18 shots to Drogheda’s three on Monday night as new boss Ger Nash begins to put his stamp on the team.
Maguire is now fully fit after missing two months with a hamstring injury, while Nash has been busy in the transfer market.
NEW FACES
Midfielder Fiacre Kelleher — brother of Ireland No 1 Caoimhín — has arrived from Colchester United while former Bohemians defender Rory Feely is moving from Crawley Town, with both players available to play from July 1.
And yesterday the new gaffer also added 20-year-old Charlie Lutz on loan from Aston Villa having worked with him at the Premier League club last year.
But Maguire agrees that the team need to change their fortunes quickly before their situation becomes any more precarious.
He added: “What is it 15 games left? There is still a lot of football to play, I don’t think anyone should start panicking yet.
“But we don’t have enough time to feel sorry for ourselves, we need to get up and start winning games because we have only won two games and haven’t kept a clean sheet.
“We need to start picking up points real quick. Because if we don’t, it could be too late.”
