Damien Duff says he and Shane Farrell have 'kissed and made-up', after the Shelbourne manager was critical of his player earlier in the week.
Duff was angry after Farrell was sent-off against Shamrock Rovers on Monday but tonight's 1-0 Dublin derby victory over St Patrick’s Athletic left the Shels boss in a much better mood.
John Martin’s first-half goal was enough for Shels to claim their first win in six games against St Patrick's Athletic and sees them keep their three point lead at the top of the table.
Farrell was in the stands for the game, serving a suspension from that red card and speaking afterwards, Duff insisted that there was no lingering issue between him and Farrell after his comments.
"I'm absolutely fine, I've slept well since, Shane's trained really well since," Duff said. "We've kissed, we've made up.
"The staff and the players, not that there was anything to defuse, but they've seen the light-hearted side of it.
"The players and staff had a vote on Tuesday morning who would win in a fight between me and Shane Farrell, and hands down, Shane Farrell won 30 votes and I got zero."
While Duff has yet to convince his squad of his MMA skills, he believes that he’s getting the response he wants from the players on the pitch and he hailed a "brilliant performance" from them in front of 5,000 people at Tolka Park.
"Like I said, on Monday we got our team back. You always still worry for how long, but no, it was a brilliant performance tonight.
"I think we did start off slowly, scruffing the ball for the first half hour, they played at their own pace.
"I don't think they really threatened us throughout the night. Yes, a couple of long balls at the end, but I thought when we did play from half an hour in, when we played with quality and with the speed, we got chances and we had plenty of chances to win the game.
"I think that last 15-20 minutes of the first half, we’re smelling things, being proactive rather than reactive, I think we get more goals.
"Then the second half, a couple of set-pieces, more chances. Yes, we had to suck it up at times and just defend without the ball. But, like I said, we felt calm and in control of the game, even without the ball."
Meanwhile, St Pat’s manager John Daly was left disappointed by his side’s response to going behind on a night when they only managed two shots on target over the course of the game.
"I thought we actually started the game relatively well. I think first half hour we were okay and they obviously scored and I don’t think we reacted well to the goal.
"We didn’t do enough on the night to warrant anything from the game," he added.
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