BRIAN Maher reckons the eight-second rule will make the Brandywell a tougher place to play — for opposition goalkeepers.
Fifa have introduced a new rule at the Club World Cup where a corner is awarded if a keeper does not release the ball in his hands within eight seconds.
The rule replaces a six-second regulation whereby an indirect free-kick was awarded — though it was rarely implemented.
And the new eight-second rule will be used in the League of Ireland from tomorrow, as it comes into action around the world this month.
Derry City star Maher reckons it will make no difference to keepers like him in a team that wants to play on the front foot.
But he believes fans can make it harder for opponents.
Maher told SunSport: “From our end, we’re happy to see it come in. We’ve had it plenty of times where teams come up and try and waste time at the Brandywell.
“Probably twice in the last couple of weeks, we’ve had referees warning goalkeepers in the first half. It is a good thing for us that it’s a rule.
“It has given fans a chance to get on top of it, especially if they’re being beaten at home or whatever.
“The big thing is to see how it is implemented. If referees are going to be put under pressure, players need to be aware of it and not get caught.
“I remember there was a six-second rule — so we’ve now got an extra two seconds!”
But Maher believes many goalkeepers will not have to change their game.
He said: “It’s something we speak about at Derry. We want to play on the front foot and at a high tempo. There is no point in me taking ages over a dead ball, or out of my hands.
“Even throw-ins and free-kicks, we want to get the ball in play as fast as we can. I don’t think it will affect us much.”
And the Candystripes are a team currently on the front foot having won their last three games against Drogheda United, St Pat’s and Shelbourne to climb to second place.
They remain 11 points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers with two games in hand, which makes this month huge as they play all of their extra matches.
But having not won four games in a row since June last year, Maher insisted the sole focus is on beating Waterford tomorrow and building further momentum.
He added: “When you talk about points and games in hand, it’s not something we talk about.
“We mentioned the table once last week because we faced three sides around us. It could have been tricky but we took nine points which puts us second in the table.
“We just want a run to find consistency. We’ve had little runs of two and three games this year but we haven’t put four or five together.
“The manager keeps telling us we’re still improving and we’ve got a way to go.
“Even this week, he’s delighted with the results but is showing us where we can improve. The 11-point gap to the top shows that there is room to improve.”
