HE WILL BE 'ROCK OF AGES

Byrne: Bradley is a Hoops legend

- BY GARRY DOYLE

MICK BYRNE insists Stephen Bradley belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Shamrock Rovers greats.

The Hoops boss is on the brink of landing his fifth title in six years as a manager - a record for a Rovers boss.

And Byrne, captain of the 1980s four-in-a-row winners, insists Bradley deserves to be bracketed alongside the club's previous great managers, Paddy Coad, Jim McLaughlin and Liam Tuohy.

Ex-Ireland international Byrne said: "What Stephen has managed to do is extraordinary because a league title is much harder to win now than it was in the 1980s.

"Then we had three or four challengers.

"Now there is no such thing as an easy game. All the Premier Division teams are fulltime. Every week is a battle.

"The level of intensity you need to compete on a weekly basis is severe.

"So, for Stephen to guide the team to such sustained success says a lot about him as a man and as a leader.

"And then, on top of that, he has brought the club so much success and finances through their success in Europe.