Mahon hails Coughlan influence as Waterford's resurgence gathers pace

John Mahon admitted Waterford's impressive victory over St Patrick's Athletic on Friday felt like the reward for months of hard work as Graham Coughlan's side continued their remarkable resurgence with another statement performance.

The defender, who scored Waterford's second goal at Richmond Park, struggled to put into words what the result meant to both him and his teammates after another significant step forward in the club's revival under Coughlan.

"I don't think I can put it into words," Mahon said.

"I'd say all our hard work over the last few months has come to fruition tonight. The manager coming in, everything he's spoken about in training and all the hard training sessions, I feel like it all came out tonight with that performance. I've never been so happy after a game."

Mahon said the result was especially satisfying given the difficult moments the squad have endured together.

"I feel like even the boys in the dressing room, we've had some dark days on the pitch, but for us all to come together and put on a performance like that means the world."

The win carried extra significance for Mahon, who reflected on how far Waterford have come since Coughlan's first game in charge against St Patrick's Athletic in May. On that occasion, the Blues took an early lead before eventually suffering a heavy defeat at Richmond Park.

"It was a full-circle moment for me," he said.

"Coming back here now as a much stronger outfit, with more confidence, and I think the performance showed that. It was a massive three points. I'm really happy and so many of the lads are the same."

Mahon believes Coughlan deserves enormous credit for Waterford's transformation and described the Blues boss as the best manager he has worked under.

"I think he deserves massive credit," he said.

"I feel like the way he operates, he's probably the best manager I've played under. His team talks before the game get you right up for it. You can see he's passionate.

"I'm not going to say it's all the manager because the players deserve credit as well, but he's played a massive role in it."

Mahon's goal was his fifth of the season, a return he believes is the product of a conscious effort to become more effective in the opposition penalty area.

After seeing an earlier header from a Benny Couto corner brilliantly kept out by Joseph Anang, the centre-back made no mistake when another opportunity arrived. 

"In the off-season I felt like I wanted to add a few more goals to my game," he said.

"I think I'm on five now, so hopefully I can keep it going. It's about putting yourself in the right positions and having the desire to score.

"If I can help the team with blocks, tackles, keeping clean sheets and then chip in with a few goals, it's only going to benefit the team."

Waterford's recent run has included victories over some of the league's strongest sides and Mahon insisted they now approach every game with the same belief.

"It's the same mindset going into games. We want three points," he said.

"The training sessions are sometimes even harder than the games. That's the way he trains us. When we come into games, we're already set up the right way and we just need to perform.

"We're on a good run at the moment and hopefully we can keep it going."

Attention now turns to the FAI Cup quarter-final against Sligo Rovers at the RSC next weekend, and Mahon believes Waterford have every reason to be confident.

The Blues drew away to Sligo in the league last weekend and the defender insists there is no fear heading into a tie that offers a place in the semi-finals.

"No, definitely not," he said. "We've nothing to fear.

"We've beaten them once, drawn with them once and now we're bringing them back to the RSC. We need to bring this performance into that game and hopefully we can reach the semi-final."