Shamrock Rovers chasing history
Shamrock Rovers will be bidding to make it four titles in a row when the League of Ireland Premier Division season kicks-off on February17.
The Hoops have achieved that feat once before, between1984 and1987, when they established themselves as the most successful team in the country. Yet within a year of that title they had lost their home ground, Glenmalure Park, and their place at the top of the Irish game. For the following 22 years, the Hoops played their home games at various Dublin venues until finally securing a lease on the new Tallaght Stadium in 2009.
During their nomadic period, Rovers only won the league once, in1993-94, but returned to winning ways once they had a permanent home. In their second season in Tallaght, the Hoops won their16th league title under current Northern Ireland boss, Michael O’Neill, and last season lifted their 20th.
Much of the credit for Rovers’ recent success goes to manager Stephen Bradley. Unlike their previous haul of four titles in a row, which were won under two different coaches – Jim McLaughlin and Dermot Keely – the 38-year-old ex-Arsenal apprentice has been the brains behind all of the three latest successes. Born just two miles from Tallaght Stadium, Bradley is close to making history at his hometown club.
After a successful playing career, Bradley was appointed Rovers boss in November 2016, a few days before his 32nd birthday. In his early days in charge the Hoops couldn’t keep up with Dundalk and Cork City, who dominated the league. But Rovers finally reached the summit in the COVID-interrupted 2020 season when they went through the truncated league campaign unbeaten. In 2021 they finished with a16-point lead over second place, and last season the winning margin was13 points.
Their superiority is undeniable, and Bradley is aware of the weight of expectations on his shoulders.
“It would be a special achievement for the players and everybody at the club, including myself, if we manage to win four-in-a-row,” he said. “We know that clubs like Dundalk, Derry and St Patrick’s will be pushing us hard, but we have to remain hungry and focused.
“By May or June we hope the new fourth stand at Tallaght Stadium will be completed and then we will be able to accommodate crowds of up to10,000 at home games on a regular basis.”
Rovers have lost three players from last season – Aidomo Emakhu to Millwall, Andy Lyons to Blackpool and ex-Burnley and Wigan midfielder Chris McCann, who returned to live in England – but have signed three replacements. Liam Burt arrived from Bohemians, Trevor Clarke re-joined the club on loan from Bristol Rovers after moving to England in 2019, and former Sligo Rovers forward Johnny Kenny arrived on loan from Celtic.
“We have lost three, but I am very happy with the players we have signed,” said Bradley. “I like Johnny and tried to get him a few years back. He knows the league very well. In this team, with the chances we create and the way he plays, I think Johnny will score goals for us.”
Bradley’s impressive work has been recognised across the Irish Sea. Last season, he received an offer from English League One club Lincoln City, which he turned down.
“I wasn’t happy that news of the Lincoln offer got into the media, but when it did I had to deal with it. At that stage I thought Rovers had a good chance of qualifying for the group stage of the Europa Conference League, which we did. I took a bit of gamble, but I wanted to test myself.
“I hope I don’t regret turning down the Lincoln offer. I make no secret of the fact that I would love to manage in another country at a different level – that’s a real ambition of mine.”
Last season’s runners-up, Derry City, improved significantly in Ruaidhri Higgins’ first full season in charge, and the manager was happy with the Candystripes’ improvement. A former Derry player, Higgins left his role as opposition analyst for the national team to re-join the club in April 2021, and guided the side to a top-two finish for the first time in16 years, and victory in the FAI Cup.
That was Derry’s sixth FAI Cup win, and they have also won the League Cup a record11 times, yet they have only won the league twice, the last being in1997. “We are really just focused on our own performances and overall improvement and not worried about toppling Rovers,” says Higgins.
Level with Derry on 66 points last season were Dundalk. Their manager
“I make no secret of the fact that I would love to manage in another country at a different level – that’s a real ambition of mine”” Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley
Stephen O’Donnell, who controversially joined them after helping St Patrick’s win the FAI Cup in 2021, assembled a new squad at Oriel Park and they gelled well together. They lost Lewis Macari, grandson of the legendary Lou Macari, who has returned to Stoke City following a loan spell. But O’Donnell is hoping to announce a few new signings before kick-off.
He said: “We were not involved in Europe last season, but we will be in the Europa Conference League this season. It’s good to see that the league is trying to ease the fixture pressure on the clubs playing in Europe by having a few extra round of midweek games in May before the European season gets underway.
“It’s going to be difficult for anybody to stop Rovers making if four in a row. But in this league, everybody is capable of taking points off each other.”
St Patrick’s Athletic manager Tim Clancy says he was happy to retain most of his squad from last season, but promises Saints fans a few new faces before kick-off.
Clancy, who spent most of his playing career in Scotland with Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Hibernian and St Johnstone, began his managerial career with Drogheda United and joined St Pat’s last season. Upon arriving, Clancy has bolstered his front line with experienced striker Eoin Doyle from Bolton Wanderers, who returned to his home country after nearly12 years playing in Scotland and England.
“Eoin will be 35 in March, but he was our top scorer with14 goals last season and there was only one player in the league who scored more [Aidan Keena with Sligo]. Apart from his goalscoring, Eoin gives encouragement and support to the younger squad members.”
Apart from Shelbourne manager
Damien Duff, who won100 Irish caps, Cork City manager Colin Healy is the only other current domestic manager to have been capped at senior level for the Republic of Ireland, winning13 caps alongside a club career with the likes of Celtic, Sunderland, Barnsley and Ipswich Town. He finished his career with his hometown club and was appointed manager in December 2020, shortly after the club had been relegated from the Premier Division. Now, after winning the First Division last season, Cork are back in the top flight.
“I retired as a player in 2016, so I missed out on City winning the league-cup double in 2017, ” said Healy. “We are the only Premier Division club in Cork, and we have no trouble attracting decent crowds of around 6,000 when we are going well.”
Until recently, Cork were owned by supporters group FORAS (Friends of the Rebel Army Society), but were taken over by businessman Dermot Usher in December.
“It’s good to have a new owner on board and hopefully it will give us stability,” said Healy. “But I’m very grateful to FORAS, who were very supportive of me for the past two years.”
Meanwhile, there will be a new name in the First Division after Kerry FC joined the league. Kerry has traditionally been a strong Gaelic football county, but has had a football team competing in the League of Ireland’s youth divisions in recent years. Now, a senior team will compete in the second tier at Mounthawk Park in the town of Tralee, initially on a fully amateur basis with a focus on developing young talent.
With the addition of Kerry it means that17 of the 26 counties that make up the Republic of Ireland have now had a league team at some stage.