Coughlan's Waterford merely controlling the controllables

Create your own reality. That might best describe the approach that Waterford boss Graham Coughlan is taking as he continues to attempt to steer his side clear of a relegation battle - albeit a relegation battle that they're not really in, as far as the manager is concerned.

The Déise grabbed another three valuable points with a 1-0 home win over struggling Shelbourne this afternoon as Tom Lonergan's latest goal pulled ninth-placed Waterford within two points of Drogheda, who drew with champions Shamrock Rovers on Friday evening.

Not that Coughlan - who took over from Jon Daly less than three months ago with the team drift at the bottom after a horrendous start to the season - is paying attention to the Louth club, or any club not named Waterford FC for that matter.

"If I was looking at the table and if I was looking at the opponents, I'd be telling you lies. I don't. I genuinely don't," Coughlan told RTÉ Sport's Shane Dawson after his side's latest win.

"I'm more concerned of our team, our players, our individuals, our performance levels.

"I don't get sucked into that, and I don't get embroiled in that because if we're not doing our jobs, if we're not winning games, if we're not keeping clean sheets, it's on us.

"History will tell you, probably from a managerial career, I always just work off 80% us, 20% the opposition.

"I try keep the lads away from the league table. I try and keep the lads away from the opponents or whoever's in that table. We've got a mini league going on, which we're top of and I think we're probably up there top of the league in terms of form over the last eight or 10 games.

"So they're the the league tables that we work off. They're what we look at. I can't control what's happened before. I can't control anything with Drogheda, with Sligo, with Galway.

"So I've got to concentrate and stay focused on what we're doing, what we're about, and how we win football matches."

Coughlan did allow himself some satisfaction with another excellent home disaply from the south-east club, who have been making the RSC something of aa fortress durign the summer months.

"We're pleased with it. Can't can't hide the fact. Clean sheet as well. I thought we were excellent," Coughlan enthused.

"We were really good. It should've been a little bit more comfortable than it was. But again, I suppose that's the area of the table we're in. That's where the lads are, we were really good, to be fair.

"I kept waiting on [Shelbourne] to change shape. I kept waiting on them to chuck one or two different scenarios at us and the longer the game went on, I was quite surprised.

"I thought they would've went two up top a lot quicker chasing that goal. We gave them a lifeline with penalty that we missed. They then had a five, 10-minute period.

"As you'd expect, Shelbourne were very good with the ball. They moved us around. They asked a couple of questions of us, but we answered the questions and I was really pleased with our performance today.

"Really pleased. And fair play to Shelbourne, a really good team, European place, and they won the league a couple of seasons back.

"So they have got really good players, real quality as well. That's a big win for us. It's a big win. Hopefully the lads made a statement today that we can compete.

"We can compete with the bigger and the better teams."

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