Stephen Bradley endured another trying night against Bohemians on Monday, but in the immediate aftermath of the Gypsies' 2-0 win at Dalymount Park, the Shamrock Rovers manager was magnanimous in his praise of the opposition and also of another former rival in the form of ex-Shelbourne boss Damien Duff.
Under Duff, Shels derailed Rovers' five-in-a-row quest for league honours last season, with growing enmity evident between two dueling managers.
However, Bradley echoed the sentiments of many – including Bohs manager Alan Reynolds – in lamenting Duff's departure from the League of Ireland, recognising the increased exposure on the domestic game that was a feature of the former Republic of Ireland star's tenure at Tolka Park.
"I'm sad to see him leave Shelbourne, and the league as a whole," Bradley told RTÉ Sport.
"He's obviously a very good manager and coach. He's a good person and he is and was very, very good for the league.
"I'm sad to see him go and hopefully he's back in the league at some point.
"But I'm sure he has his reasons for making his decision and you've got to respect that."
Bohs have racked up three wins in as many games against the league leaders this season, with the hoodoo one that extends from the last campaign. Rovers, who saw their lead at the summit reduced to nine points, have now a solitary win to show from their last six encounters against their most bitter rivals.
Bradley had no complaints about the result, if not the performance, and admitted: "First half, we were miles off the game. We were a million miles off what's required in any game, but particularly this type of game.
"As a result, they were two up and possibly could have been three or four up to be honest, we were that far off the level.
"That's football and that's Dublin derbies.
"There are lots of aspects we have to try and understand in why we were so far off it in the first half.
"You've got to credit Bohs. They were good, but we were a million miles off the game in every aspect and in every way."
Bohs boss Reynolds highlighted the demands of the league, in relation to Duff's exit, and said: "I'm disappointed because I think he's fantastic for the league.
"I don't think people understand or realise the pressure of management.
"It's 24/7. You go away from the ground when you lose a game and there's no feeling like it.
"You try to describe it to people, you put in so much, it's 24/7 all the time and it has an effect."
Bohs played with a tempo that Rovers couldn't live with on the night, in stark contrast to their listless display in a 2-1 defeat against Waterford just three days earlier.
"We were hurting from Friday," Reynolds admitted. "We felt we didn't turn up, but we're super-fit and we're really aggressive without the ball.
"We feel we need to be like that against everyone at Dalymount, but especially Shamrock Rovers, because if you give them time they'll hurt you.
"You could see our press without the ball was outstanding, but there wasn't any lack of quality when we had it as well.
"I actually think that when we went 1-0 up, we needed to go 2-0 up before half-time because of the way we were playing. Thankfully, we got the second."
