STUEY Byrne made Joey O’Brien momentarily break from his pre-prepared line on succeeding Damien Duff with a witty remark.
O’Brien was speaking to the RTE panel pitchside after overseeing Shelbourne to a deserved 1-0 win in their first leg against Linfield.
The second leg of their Champions League first round qualifier will take place on Wednesday[/caption]
Alan Cawley and Peter Collins were also present[/caption]
Throughout the five-minute post-match chat, O’Brien was at pains to point out that too much of the media focus in the run-up to this lucrative tie has been on him rather than the club as a whole.
But upon repeating that point, Shels legend Byrne quipped: “You can tell us to feck off if you want to!”
The League of Ireland champions were dominant against their northern counterparts at Tolka Park but it took changes off the bench for them to clinch the win.
One of the substitutes, Seán Boyd, got the better of two opponents to set up Mipo Odubeko who scored for the third game in a row.
But O’Brien – in his first European game as manager – said: “I thought in the first half, it was a really good performance.
“We attacked the game really well and we created a lot of chances.
“In a European tie, it’s four halves of football. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve but it was about resetting. I thought we had chances again and we were happy to get the winner.
“It was a tough team to pick because I know how important these games are for players but I said the bench would be important.
“And Boydy was a handful when he came on. He did brilliantly. But the game is well alive and it’s all to play for next week.
“Going up there, we’re going to attack the game, play on the front foot, try to dominate and look to win the tie. The game is still in the balance, everything is to play for, I can’t wait for next week.
“They’re at home so it’s going to be difficult with their support. I’m sure the place up there will be rocking as well.”
That was echoed by Harry Wood who said: “It’s a tough place to go, we know only 50 percent of the job is done. We know we have work to do but it is good to go there with a win.
“Our mindset is to go and try to win the game. Whatever the score was here, we were going to try to go there to win.
“This is what you want to be playing in when you’re a kid. It’s the biggest competition in world football, especially club football, and you want to be playing in these, high-pressure moments.”
A delighted Odubeko added: “The first half was really frustrating. I don’t think I really touched the ball so to see the ball bobble into the bottom corner I’m really happy.
“I think we put on a good show. I love playing at Tolka Park, I love playing for Shels and most importantly scoring goals for Shels.”
