Derry 'fully focused' on top-two finish - Lynch
Tiernan Lynch is hoping to steer his Derry City side to a second placed league finish
- Published
Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch says his side will not be taking their "foot off the gas" as they end their League of Ireland Premier Division season with a trip to Cork City on Saturday.
The Candystripes secured European football last time out with a 2-1 win over the champions Shamrock Rovers at the Brandywell.
Derry know a win against already-relegated opposition will secure second spot in the table as they lead third-placed Shelbourne by two points with Joey O'Brien's side set to host a St Pats outfit themselves looking to nail down a top-four finish.
The added incentive for finishing second is the likelihood it will bring Europa League qualification for next season which will be the case as long as Shamrock Rovers beat Cork in the FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, 9 November.
That outcome would also mean that the league's fourth-placed side would qualify for the Conference League.
"It's in our hands and it would be a great shame if we throw it away now at this stage because of a lack of focus or a lack of concentration or taking our foot off the gas," Lynch told BBC Sport NI.
"So that's not something that will be accepted among all of us. As a collective, we'll go into that game fully focused, fully prepared for what lies ahead.
"We don't shy away from it. We want to finish second. Whether there's other European things come with that or not, we want to finish second in the league and we'll go in fully focused to do that."
Cork are likely to have their eye of next week's cup final, with their relegation to the First Division for 2026 already confirmed, but Lynch believes the game may afford some fringe players the chance to stake a claim for selection in the showpiece decider.
"I think it'll probably depend on their mentality. And there'll definitely be people in that squad who maybe won't be sure whether they'll get a start the following Sunday," Lynch added.
"They'll need to use this to maybe try and help make up the manager's mind.
"So, albeit they definitely have a massive game the following week, I think that they'll be using this very much as a preparation going into it."