Drogheda are coming from a very disappointing season, which saw the Drogs have their relegation confirmed with well over a month of football left. Having won promotion by being second in the First Division in the 2016 season, one cannot really say that the Drogs' relegation comes as a surprise, but one cannot escape the impression that they did not do as well as they could.
What is bizarre regarding the Drogs in the season that is now behind us is that a look at the table suggests that they were out of their depth in the top flight, but nothing regarding their form in the opening third of the season suggested that.
They started their season with back-to-back wins over Galway and St.Pats were sitting inside the midtable places with 12 games gone, having collected 14 points out of them, but something happened to Pete Mahon's side following their bright start.
They went on a remarkable six-month winless run that lasted 22 games and which they only ended in the penultimate round with a 3:2 win over Finn Harps, who were already relegated by then. Injuries certainly played a part in their demise, given that Mahon was without a minimum of five players in the majority of his side's games in the second half of the season, but this cannot fully explain the collapse they had.
In the end, the Drogs ended the season rock bottom, but what the board and Mahon, should he stay in charge, will try to understand over the coming period is what caused the Drogs to collect 14 points from their opening 12 games and only eight from the 21 games they played after that.
