Shamrock Rovers must find a way of stringing together a run of results or the drive for five could be halted by one of their rivals, says striker Aaron Greene.
Stephen Bradley's side were humbled 3-1 on their home patch last Monday by Waterford, spurning the opportunity go top for the first time this season.
As it is, Shelbourne are three points clear of Rovers and Derry City, with the chasing pack in the rear-view mirror. Galway United and Bohemians are four points adrift of second place, but with a game in hand.
The champions have not reached top gear yet, with the Waterford loss coming on the back of a 1-1 draw at Dalymount Park.
While Greene feels his side did enough in the second half against Bohs to claim all three points, there were no excuses offered for the reversal at home to Waterford.
"It wasn't good enough," he said on reflection of the loss. "When you don’t hit levels in this league, teams turn you over. Waterford turned us over.
"People talk about our injured players but, not being rude, we on the pitch can’t do anything about that.
"We’ve enough available players to win any game and again that’s not being arrogant to other teams."
The 34-year-old hit five goals in April to scoop the player of the month accolade, but collectively things are yet to click.
With as many draws as victories – six – and three defeats to their name, the somewhat sluggish form of the champions has helped created a more competitive look to the top of the table.
Rovers travel to Richmond Park looking to signal their intent of putting a run of results together to crank up the pressure on Shels and Derry City.
"It’s the most open since I’ve been at Rovers," he said. "We, as players, need to galvanise ourselves and put a run together because although teams around us are dropping points, there will come a time that they don’t drop points.
Having led the club to FAI Cup success last year, fortunes have slipped considerably, though Greene says events this week won’t distract Rovers from the task at hand.
"It’s easy for us because we focus on ourselves. A caretaker manager will galvanise the players. They’ll get a reaction, but we must have a reaction too from Monday.
"I think Pat’s are a good side with talented players who can hurt so we’ll respect what they bring to the game."
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