Jordan McEneff offered a glimpse of Derry City’s ruthless mindset by claiming they were unhappy with their rout of UCD.
And the former Arsenal man warned the league that the table-topping Candystripes are only warming up.
McEneff, who signed in August and scored in the FAI Cup final, bagged a sweet first-half Brace at the Bowl to put Derry on the way to an easy 4-0 win.
Fulham loan star Ollie O’Neill then capitalised on a Lorcan Healy howler to seal the deal, before College defender Evan Osam turned in a late Will Patching free-kick.
McEneff is on fire this season and Monday’s double moved him to the top of the Premier Division scoring charts with four goals in four games.
That has helped Derry get off to a flyer having secured six points from six after two quick-fire visits to Dublin in the space of four days.
The win over UCD came hot on the heels of a serious scalp when downing Shamrock Rovers 2-1 at Tallaght Stadium on Friday.
And while Derry were strolling to victory over the league’s bottom side on Monday, the champions had to scramble a last gasp 4-4 draw with Cork City in a madcap game.
The Candystripes hold a one-point lead over Bohemians at the summit, but are seven clear of the Hoops who are still seen as their chief title rivals.
That’s already one point more than their biggest lead over Rovers last season, when Derry were top for 11 weeks before the Hoops overhauled them in May and pulled clear.
But despite the four-goal winning margin at UCD, McEneff insists there were no high-fives dished out on the night.
McEneff said: “If you ask any of the players, we could have played better in a lot of the game but all that matters is the three points.
“Obviously you want to play good football but I think we’re learning now that you'll take the three points even if you don't play as well as you want to.
“It’s still early on. We still have a long way to go and we’ll just continue to go into every game looking for three points.”
McEneff continued: “The lads have all said that we can’t get carried away.
“Shamrock Rovers are champions three times for a reason. They do have a run in them that they can go unbeaten.
“We just have to continue doing our job and not worry about them.”
McEneff - brother of ex-Rovers title winner Aaron McEneff, who is now with Perth Glory in Australia - is pulling out the stops for weekly starts.
He played a peripheral role when he signed in August, and only came off the bench late in Friday’s win in Tallaght but started at UCD.
“You want to be starting every game, especially the big ones, so of course you’re a bit disappointed,” said the 22-year-old, who also had a loan at Shelbourne last year.
“But you have to get behind the boys and when you do come on, you try to see out the game like we did on Friday.
“And when I do get a chance on a Monday, I want to go out and prove myself and I think I did that (with two goals).”
Derry host Dundalk this Friday and McEneff added: “That’s always a tough game. They are big and physical and will get after you with good players.
“It will definitely be a tight game but hopefully one where we can get three points.”
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