National League Column: If the controversy that surrounded Cork City's defeat in Waterford a week earlier tended to obscure any message that might be contained in the 2-1 scoreline then Friday evening's 2-0 FAI Cup defeat by Shelbourne at Turner's Cross can have left Pat Dolan with few doubts about the scale of the task that faces him.

Expectations are high around Cork City and ultimately the club is, as far as its supporters are concerned, supposed to be challenging for the league. But the relative ease with which Pat Fenlon's side subdued their opponents suggests City are still a good away off being in a position to challenge their big rivals from Dublin.

With the exception of the 20-minute spell in the second half Cork looked timid and slightly outclassed in almost every area of the pitch. Up front John O'Flynn and George O'Callaghan looked capable of causing their markers problems while Michael Devine is clearly a capable goalkeeper.

In many other departments, however, the team is missing either quality or experience and while it is great to see young, local players being brought through, too many of Friday's starters looked as though they are still learning their trade.

The extent of the gulf between the two sides was most readily evident on the benches, though, where Fenlon had Tony McCarthy, Richie Baker and Jim Gannon.

Cork also seemed to be handicapped by the roles handed to a couple of key players. For almost the entire game Shelbourne were untroubled by Cork's wide midfielders while Billy Woods, one of the few players in the league who, on his day, could give Owen Heary real problems, was played at left back.

Colin O'Brien, a consistently impressive performer out on the right for Cork a few seasons ago, was required to provide some composure and creativity in central midfield. How badly the home side could have done with an Alan Reynolds to anchor things in the heart of the team or an Ollie Cahill out on the flank but both were lost to Dublin rivals with a tradition of paying their players more handsomely.

Quite why Cork lose out remains a bit of a mystery. With a huge catchment area from which to draw players, fans and commercial support the club would appear to be in a strong position. Certainly when the team is going well Cork, as it has been so far this season, is the best supported club in the country. And there was some evidence at the weekend, not least in the excellent match programme, the club is making progress on the business front.

The question is, however, whether any of that will result in Dolan being able to pay the sort of money required to bring in the players required to provide the team with a more solid backbone.

It is important, of course, that the team not lose its local character and some of those close to the club believe Dolan has played his cards well by being seen to give the locals every chance to prove themselves before publicly conceding he needs to buy.

Recently, though, there have been widespread reports that, after a very quiet start on the transfer front, the former

St Patrick's Athletic boss has been in touch with a number of high-profiled players. The extent of his purchasing power looks set, however, to take another while to become apparent.

In the meantime Dolan and everyone else at the club will be anxious the club bounces back from Friday's loss to defeat Derry City this weekend. The southerners have one of the largest support in the league but there is a huge difference between the 1,000 to 1,500 that can be depended upon to show up regardless of how the team is doing and 5,000-plus that would pay into Turner's Cross to see a team that is doing well.

To date Dolan's notorious patter may well have helped to swell those crowds while his record in Inchicore suggests when he starts buying players he will do well with the money given to him. He is never likely, however, to enjoy the freedom at to bring in players in the sort of numbers he was permitted to sign at Richmond Park and there will always be the need to retain a local flavour to the team.

Given the restraints, it seems the league's most successful manager of the last few years is facing his most interesting test yet.

emalone@irish-times.ie