Coughlan's reality‑crafting steadies Waterford amid league pressure

Waterford manager Graham Coughlan insists his ‘Create your own reality’ mantra, rather than league‑table obsession, is steering the Déise clear of relegation, even as the club celebrated a 1‑0 home win over Shelbourne and edged within two points of Drogheda, who drew with Shamrock Rovers on Friday.

‘Create your own reality.’ That phrase, Coughlan says, best describes the approach he is taking to keep his side focused on what he can control.

The Déise secured three valuable points with Tom Lonergan’s decisive goal, pulling ninth‑placed Waterford within two points of Drogheda, who themselves held champions Shamrock Rovers to a draw on Friday evening.

Coughlan, who replaced Jon Daly less than three months ago after a horrendous start that left the team at the bottom of the table, emphasizes that he does not monitor the league positions of other clubs.

“I don’t look at the table or the opponents,” he told RTÉ Sport’s Shane Dawson. “If we’re not doing our jobs, not winning games, not keeping clean sheets, it’s on us.”

He adds that his philosophy is “80 % us, 20 % the opposition” and that he keeps the lads away from the league table, focusing instead on a mini‑league of form over the last eight to ten games where Waterford sit at the top.

Coughlan expressed satisfaction with the clean sheet and the team’s home performance, noting that Waterford have become something of a fortress during the summer months.

He praised Shelbourne as a “really good team, European place, and they won the league a couple of seasons back,” and concluded that the victory shows Waterford can compete with the bigger and better teams.