Mike targeting the big European nights

HAVING been soaked in champagne as he lifted the Premier Division trophy for the first time before taking it on a weekend tour around the pubs of Dundalk, it’s fair to say club chairman Mike Treacy enjoyed the recent title triumph.

Should Stephen Kenny’s side complete the double with victory over Cork City at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, you’d imagine the American will be in the thick of the celebrations once again.

While the Chicago man knows how to mark a victory, he insists that the current successes are just a stepping stone towards an ultimate goal.

While he no doubt wants to win the FAI Cup, the PEAK6 trader has his sights set higher on the Champions League. While an Irish club has never made the group stages, he feels Dundalk can be the team that breaks the mould in the years to come.

‘Our goal is to win every year and the goal is to succeed in Europe as well. Europe is the big stage and we want to replicate what the guys did back in 2016 and we want to take it even a step further.

‘We had a great season in Europe this year. I know we went out poorly with a 4-0 loss but we won two and drew one. If you look at Larnaca, they’re a team full of La Liga players in their 30s and they’re class. They’re in the group stages right now and they’re holding their own. The goal is to go to the Champions League group stage.’

The 31-year-old said the recent re-signing of Michael Duffy on a two year deal despite interest in England was evidence of Dundalk’s ambitions in the years ahead.

‘We want to be a European team. The biggest thing that people need to understand about Irish football right now is that there’s going to be a surplus of talent coming back here. Gone are the days when all the Irish talent goes over to England and Scotland because now in England and Scotland, there’s players from Asia, from Africa, from South America, from the United States so there’s going to be this invisible hand squeezing players back to Ireland and if we’re the club that creates the facilities, the infrastructure and the culture that they want to come to and we’ll develop them at a prestigious level then that’s where we want to go.

‘Michael Duffy is a Championship quality player and we’re looking forward to having him for the next two years.’

While Europe is Treacy’s main target, he also appreciates the value of winning the FAI Cup.

‘It defines seasons. Every year a team wins the title but the next question asked is did they win the double or the treble? To have the opportunity to win the double is an incredible opportunity.

‘To be at the Aviva, some of our players should have been there recently with the national team, but they deserve to be on the big stage and to have another shot at Cork. To take home the double would be beautiful.’

Treacy also laid plenty of plaudits at the door of manager Stephen Kenny.

‘He is a rare individual,’ he said of the Lilywhites boss.

‘When you sit down with Stephen you spend 20% of it talking about football and the rest about intellectual topics. He’s a deep thinker and he cares. He cares about humans and I think part of the reason he has had so much success here is that he cares about these humans, these players, so much that he takes them to places that no one else can take them.

‘There was a shred of doubt last year after Cork won the double and then we lost a couple of players but we know who we are, we know the manager we have, the people at the club and the experienced players that we have in place – the likes of Gartland, Shields, Mountney, who has been here since he was about five years old.

‘The goal here is to create a dynasty. We’re not here to win leagues. We’re here to be the European team who plays in Ireland. We’re here to dominate.’

If you look at Larnaca they’re in the group stages right now and they’re holding their own. The goal is to go to the Champions League group stage.