'If Ruaidhri asked me to play in nets, I would put the gloves on, no problem.”

Ben Doherty has told Ruaidhri Higgins he will play wherever he needs him to at Derry City, even in goals if necessary!

The 25-year-old was speaking with his tongue firmly in his cheek of course, but there was no denying his passion for play for his home town club again, after making his return to the Brandywell against Cork City last Friday night. It was Doherty’s first game in red and white since 2018, and after playing over 90 minutes in a left wing back position, he insisted he was ready to play anywhere for the team.

“I would play anywhere and I said that to the gaffer when I came back,” he stated. “I’ve played everywhere – right back and centre forward are probably the only two positions I haven’t played, but I might get in there this year, we’ll see. The way the injuries are going at the minute, I might, you never know. But I’ll play wherever I’m needed, if he asked me to play in nets, I would put the gloves on, no problem.”

“Ever since I’ve left I always had it in my mind. It was always the one part of my career where I said ‘What if?’ or ‘If only’. I never wanted to leave it like that so it has probably come full circle for me now and it’s good to have the family back watching now as well. The buzz around the place is amazing and it’s a good project to be a part of.”

Doherty had to sit on the bench for the first game away at St. Patrick’s Athletic, and he knows that he will have to bide his time this year as Higgins uses a squad with significant depth.

“We’ve got a good squad here and I had an honest conversation with Ruaidhri and he said to me that I’ll probably play more games than enough this year, but for certain games, there are certain players that he will want to play,” he revealed. “I respect that fully. The competition for places is a big thing and I think we’ve got a good squad in there and whoever does play is supported by the rest of the players. Every player in there understands that they are needed for certain situations and they are ready to go whenever they get the call.”

Getting the win over Cork City was vital for the Candystripes, with Doherty acknowledging that heading to Tallaght this week looking for a first victory would have been an unenviable prospect.

“Going in against Cork, we knew the fans were going to bring good energy and we wanted to excite them as a team and that’s what Ruaidhri’s message was, just to go out and light the place up and take the three points on the first night back at the Brandywell,” he reflected.

“We want to make the Brandywell a hard place to come this year. Obviously last year our away form was a lot better than our home form. People had a lot to say about that, but this year we just want to make sure the home form is just as good.”

‘Send a message’

 As it stands, it is Shamrock Rovers who are still without their first win heading into Friday’s game. Both Rovers and Derry City are expected to challenge for the league title this year, and while the result of this weekend’s game will not be fatal to either, Doherty acknowledges that it is an opportunity for the Candystripes to make a statement.

“We know what we’re going to get going down there,” he said. “It’s a tough place to go and they are champions for a reason. We’ll want to send a message to the rest of the league, because we are going down there and we are not going to lie down to them. I think we’ll go down there and take the gam to them and play football the way we play it and we’ll see what happens on the night.

“Luckily enough you could say we have played them already this season, although they maybe didn’t play their full squad. But we have to beat these teams this year if we want to do anything. We are going down to the champions and you have to lay down a marker.”