Ger Nash: Cork City ‘healthiest all season’ ahead of Aviva showdown

With the trip to the Aviva and the mountain task of Premier Division champions just a day away, City are as primed and as ready as they’ve been all season.

Only one player is unavailable, Cathal O’Sullivan sidelined long-term with an ACL injury. Otherwise, Ger Nash says his hand has never been stronger.

“I've got the healthiest squad I've had since I've been here,” Nash begins. “Some of them won't be able to start. There's too much of them, they've been out for too long. But certainly we've got a stronger bench than we've probably had all season.” 

Matthew Murray, Harry Nevin and Ruairi Keating are all back in the fold, but Nash is adamant sentiment won’t trump sense, particularly with Keating only returning after almost the entire year out.

“It's not a hard one because my own career ended through injury, and I would never take a risk on a player,” he says. “He wouldn't have played this season if he wasn't ready. It's as simple as that. I didn't expect him to [be ready]. He's not been rushed back or anything like that. It's just a fact that he's ready.

“I think he's got a temperament that would suit a big occasion. He's the sort of personality and the sort of player that will puff his chest out and think he's going to come on and score. That's really important as well.” 

In an effort to ensure everything that can work in City’s favour does – Nash confirms the group will be travelling up early.

“We'll travel up overnight on Saturday, which we don't normally do for Dublin games. So there's some different things around that, of course there is.

“For us, it's more about getting the mentality right in terms of focussing on us and us performing at our best under pressure. I think that's what pleased me most about the St Pat's game. That was our season.

“We had to get it right that night and we did. And I think that's really important that we tap into that.” There is more than just silverware on the line for City. Win tomorrow, and they don’t just play in Europe – but receive the massive financial boost that comes with that.

“I think the financial aspects are huge. In a week's time, we'll know whether we're in the First Division or whether we're [also] potentially in Europe, in the Europa League. So the windfall that that brings is obviously hugely important.

“What we could be offering players is different based on whether we're in Europe or whether we're in the First Division. So there's definitely some context around that. 

What I will say is that when I joined this club, we had five players that were under contract for the 2026 season.

“As of today, we've 17,” Nash remarks. “So we've actually got a lot of our business done early. We have 17 players under contract already for next season. That's before the Cup final is played, before we know whether we're in Europe.

“And small things, someone like Matt Murray, who's 18, he's attracted interest. He was in Brighton during the summer. He signed a contract, little things like that are really important.

“We have the financial control in those situations. So I think the squad, whatever happens this Sunday, in my opinion, will be in a healthier place in terms of the long-term future.”