Another difficult encounter awaits Galway United at Richmond Park on Saturday evening when they face St Patrick's Athletic.
Pete Mahon's Saints still have an outside chance of claiming the title so they will view the upcoming contest with Galway in the must-win category.
Galway's losing streak now stands at a staggering 22 matches even though there was a significant improvement in performance levels when disturbing Shamrock Rovers last Sunday week.
Assistant manager Gareth Gorman, who is fearful for United’s survival, says Galway needs to stitch a vibrant underage structure together again.
"It was probably a good match to watch, but it was another defeat. It doesn't matter whether it is 4-0 or 3-2, it was another defeat and we were disappointed.
"It is hard at the moment. It is a tricky situation. The people who are running the club were left with serious problems and I don't think they knew the problems until they came in and started the running the club. It is not a good place at the minute.
"The ideal scenario for any football club, particularly in the west of Ireland, would be to have five or six lads from outside Galway and the rest local. That would be great, but it all has to go back to structure. When I played here back in 1997 and 1998 the youth team won an All Ireland. I don't know what happened after that or where it went wrong. It has to go back to that way I think.
Gorman does not believe Galway has the numbers for League of Ireland teams.
"It is leaving it even harder with three League of Ireland teams and I don't think Galway is big enough for three teams. I cannot figure out the League of Ireland's reasoning for having three clubs in the league and I think they know now that it is a mistake. I don't know where we go from here, I don't know what is going to happen. You would love the club to be still here, but the way things are going, I fear for it."
Galway have been forced to introduce a raft of untried youngsters, of whom only a small few appear ready.
"The better players will always go where the money is. Our playing budget for the year is maybe €60,000, Shamrock Rovers' is 10 times that. We played Sligo and Joseph N'do alone was getting more than our own team. At the end of the day the way the league finishes is nearly always reflective of money, well nine out of 10 times anyway. Whoever finishes top spends the most, whoever finishes bottom spends the least.
"When you are paying somebody €40 or €50 a week, what you're going to get is mistakes. The lad you pay €500 for isn't going to make as many mistakes, that is just football,” he says.
“The budget was cut we were told at a meeting on the first Saturday in June. It had to be cut to under €1500, we said that with that budget we would be staring relegation in the face and possibly not win another match for the rest of the season. That decision was taken. They were looking at the survival of the club in the long term and that is basically what it is all about. Whether we don't win a match for the rest of the reason as long as the club is here next season that would be their job done. You can see where they are coming from even if it is very hard to work from a footballing point of view.”
However Gorman says United cannot fault the effort of the young players, who are training hard and putting in performances.
“At the end of the day we are two matches away from staying in the premier division whatever happens. You never know what could happen in those games, a refereeing decision could go our way. All we can do is keep working hard, go for the play-offs, and see where that takes us."
Table quiz
Galway United will be holding a general knowledge table quiz this evening (Thursday ) in Crowes Bar, Bohermore, Galway (9pm ). The entry fee is €40 per table of four. Galway United are also hosting a car boot sale at Terryland Park this Saturday, September 3, from 10am. Trading fee is €5 for cars, €10 for vans or larger traders.
For further information, contact Ronan Coleman 087-6972823. United are re-launching the Lotto draw on Tuesday, September 13, at The Arches Hotel, Claregalway (7pm ). The jackpot will start at €2,000.
Lotto tickets are available from the club office 091-767336, from The Arches, and from sellers around the city and county.
