Treaty United manager Tommy Barrett remains confident his side can improve in the second half of the season despite a disappointing opening campaign that leaves the club bottom of the First Division heading into the summer break.
Speaking to LOI Talk, Tommy Barrett acknowledged that recent results have been frustrating but believes Treaty are capable of producing a much stronger second half of the season.
“The last few games have been difficult,” Barrett admitted.
After reaching the First Division play-off final in 2025, expectations were Treaty United would continue to remain competitive in the First Division and challenge for the play off places. However, Treaty have struggled for consistency and sit on 15 points from their opening 18 league matches.
Squad Rebuild
Tommy Barrett pointed to the significant player turnover during the off-season as one of the biggest challenges facing the club.
“The key experience of players was hard to replace,” he said.
“Losing Lee Devitt, Lee J (Lynch) and Karl (O’Sullivan) were tough to replace.”
Treaty lost seven members of the starting side that featured in last season’s play-off final defeat to Bray Wanderers, forcing the club to rebuild much of the squad during the winter.
Despite that, Barrett believes there is quality within the group.
“We’ve put a good young squad together, but the results haven’t gone our way.”
Costly Mistakes
The Treaty manager admitted that confidence has become a challenge as results have failed to arrive consistently.
“Once you get into a losing streak, it’s hard to get out of it,” he said.
“We thought we got out of it after nine or ten games when we were unbeaten in four games with three clean sheets in a row, but the last few games have been difficult.”
That brief revival included a run of positive performances that appeared to offer a route away from the bottom of the table. Instead, three consecutive defeats before the break left Treaty still searching for momentum.
While Barrett refused to make excuses for the club’s position, he highlighted injuries to several important players as another factor that has disrupted the campaign.
“We’ve had Richkov (Boevi) and Darren (Nwankwo) out for a long time, as well as Mark Walsh.”
Defensive consistency has been a particular issue for Treaty throughout the season, with injuries limiting Barrett’s options at key moments.
Looking back at the opening weeks of the campaign, Barrett believes a stronger start could have significantly altered Treaty United’s position.
“We played well against Cork on the first night, we could have won that game. Bray second game, there was nothing in it.”
“If you get six or four points out of those two games, you have a good start and you’re taking a good position in the league already.”
However, Barrett was equally honest about performances that fell below the standards he expects.
“We were poor away against Cobh and at home against UCD.”
The Treaty manager also felt mistakes proved costly during their final match before the break, a 3-1 defeat away to Longford Town.
“Poor decisions” led to conceding a “poor first goal”, he said.
For Barrett, improving concentration and decision-making will be essential if Treaty are to climb the table during the second half of the season.
“Our decision making and concentration at times have to be better.”
Curtis Influence
One major positive has been the form of Cian Curtis. The 21-year-old has been one of the First Division’s standout performers and has carried much of Treaty’s attacking threat with seven league goals so far.
Barrett was full of praise for his leading scorer.
“Cian is in a good run of form. He works hard, has a good attitude and is a great finisher.”
Curtis’ performances have been one of the few consistent bright spots in a difficult campaign and Treaty will need him to maintain that level if they are to mount a recovery.
Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Barrett believes the priorities are clear.
“We need to be more ruthless and defend better.”
“We need to work on our confidence and self-belief.”
Despite their current league position, Treaty are not yet completely detached from the clubs above them, and Barrett remains hopeful that an improvement in both boxes can help change the direction of the campaign.
The second half of the season now represents an opportunity for Treaty United to reset, build confidence and prove they are capable of producing the form that took them to within minutes of promotion contention just twelve months ago.
The full interview with Tommy Barrett will be available from 7AM Saturday morning, Where ever you get your podcasts!