IT should have been met with a sense of indifference, but it says it all about where Galway United find themselves at the tail-end of this season that the overwhelming feeling was one of relief when Cork City’s relegation was officially confirmed following their 2-1 defeat at home to Shelbourne on Monday night.

For a side that was challenging for European qualification last season, and was joint top of the table for a period in the early stages of the campaign, United now find themselves with four games left to avoid a relegation play-off, with automatic relegation no longer hanging over their head.

The first of that quartet of must-win games is this Friday when a Bohemians side that is still in the hunt for European qualification visits Eamonn Deacy Park (7.45pm), with United manager John Caulfield saying that the only focus within the group is on winning on Friday night.

United’s last game was three weeks ago when a Stephen Walsh double sealed a 2-1 win over Cork City. It was a first league win in 12 games for the Tribesmen, a run which has left them in the play-off position and three points behind both Waterford and Sligo Rovers, though United do have a game in hand on both of those sides.

“We have four big games to come, but the only game that is important right now is Friday night,” Caulfield told Tribune Sport this week, brushing off suggestions that the three-week lay-off was bad timing considering that win over Cork City.

“The break in games allowed us to give the lads a few days off and come back refreshed, and we have had a very intense, very productive couple of weeks of training. It allowed us to get some rehab into players carrying knocks, and the time off was no harm as it had been a hectic few weeks.

“We had four games in 12 days, and we also had Ollie’s funeral which was a very emotional time for everyone, so being able to give the lads some time off was a good thing,” he says.

There are a myriad of reasons why United’s form has fallen off a cliff this season: star striker Moses Dyer upped sticks barely a wet week into his United career, the lure of the Cambodian riel having been too difficult to resist: showing how much of a loss he has been is the fact he hasn’t played here since June 23, but is still sitting third in the league’s goalscorer chart.

Pictured: Galway United’s Stephen Walsh who will make a record breaking 369th appearance for the club against Bohemians at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night.