Ireland international Alan Browne admits it hasn’t been fun being a Cork City fan this season.
The midfielder, 24, left the Rebels for Preston North End in 2014 without making a first-team appearance.
He had progressed through the Leesider’s Under-19 ranks and made the first-team bench.
But Mahon man Browne remains a suporter from afar but hasn’t had much to cheer about this season.
Browne - who pulled out of the Ireland squad to face Denmark and Gibraltar with a calf injury - said: “I always keep an eye on them and like to see them do well.
“But they've really struggled this year and I don't know why that is. They’ve lost a lot of players to be fair.
“But they should still be up there competing. Over the last number of years, they've been one of the best teams in the country.
“But I think they’re really disappointed with how the season has gone. (The players) have probably let themselves down more than anything else.
“They just don't look confident at the moment. They look like they are lacking belief in themselves.
“When you’re confident and have belief in yourself, you're a whole different player and they look to be lacking that.”
Former manager John Caulfield parted company with the 2017 double winners in May after five seasons at the helm.
And Browne said: “I think he left at the right time. If he had stayed any longer, fans were starting to get on his back.
“Some fans have him as a legend and rightly so but they might have questioned that if he had stayed any longer.
“He obviously brought great success and people will always remember that but he left at the right time.”
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