The Dugout

Five games into the season and 11 points have been accumulated. It's a decent start and one that we are quietly satisfied with.

However, there remains much to improve on. The games are coming thick and fast and everybody – from the backroom staff to the players – is working hard to ensure we keep moving in the right direction.

It's always disappointing to concede late, which is what happened at Oriel Park last Saturday evening. For the most part, we bossed the game against Dundalk. They have some very talented players but we imposed our game to good effect and it forced them to go more direct than they are accustomed to. By the time Sam Bone put us in front, 11 minutes into the second half, we felt the goal had been coming.

Conceding an equaliser with five minutes of normal time to go was hard to take, although Dundalk deserve credit for upping the ante late into proceedings. They really came to life in those closing stages and, after equalising, had chances to win it. From our perspective, it would have been very harsh to leave Dundalk without at least a point.