Dundalk set Champions League target

DUNDALK’S American chairman has insisted that the consortium running the club see a place in the group stages of the Champions League as their ultimate target.

And they view the process of tying down players and staff on longer-term contracts as an essential part of that mission.

Stephen Kenny’s side have lost a number of talented players for free during his time in charge and chairman Mike Treacy has promised to address that star drain.

The Louth club started that process this week, with assistant manager Vinny Perth signing a new three-year deal and players Seán Hoare and Jamie McGrath agreeing contract extensions. Hoare has signed a new two-and-a half-year deal, while McGrath has committed himself for the next 18 months.

In an extensive interview on the LOI Weekly Podcast, which is now available on independent.ie/podcast, Treacy stressed that the club’s owners are committed to a longterm project and are planning to make improvements in all areas.

“It’s been great so far here and we hope that we can take this to the Champions League group stages,” said 31-year-old Treacy, who is a trader with American investment firm Peak6, which has the largest stake in the consortium that took over Dundalk last winter.

“We’re not going to leave things as is. Why would I want to invest in players and say in December, ‘Hey, we’ll see you later?’

“We want to run it like a professional franchise, like they run it in England. We want to bring in players on two-, three-, four-year contracts, but it takes time.”

Treacy has plans in the pipeline to improve the outdated facilities at Oriel Park, acknowledging that the unpopular section for away supporters is the “worst in the league”.

He added: “We know we need to fix it, but project development takes time and it’s going to be done in a way that it can last 20 to 50 years down the road.”