Dave O'Connor Column: It's that time of the year again, folks

It’s that time of the year again, folks.

The final weeks of another enthralling season. The climax of League of Ireland football and the accumulation of a combination of blood, sweat, tears and countless hours on training pitches up and down the country.

It’s that time of year, where all the early morning training sessions, the gruelling pre-season runs, the late night trips home from Finn Park and Turners Cross and the Sunday morning gym sessions all finally seem worth it.

In the next 14 days a pulsating Premier Division title race between Dundalk and Cork City will have been decided; the relegation/promotion play-off will have been settled, as one of Wexford Youths, Drogheda United and Cobh Ramblers earn the right to play Premier Division football next year; the European qualification places will have been decided once and for all.

And finally, the next chapter of the annual epic battle between Dundalk and Cork City will have concluded, as the two clubs once again meet in the FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium. The next 14 days promise to provide the kind of rollercoaster entertainment that truly makes our league ‘the greatest league in the world’.

Without doubt, this time of the year marks the most exciting and entertaining stages of the League of Ireland season. However, the reality for most is that his period marks the most uncertain and concerning period for a League of Ireland player.

In the next 14 days the majority of players in this league will be out of contract. For the ensuing 10-16 weeks over the Christmas period, many players in this league will be without pay.

Don’t get me wrong, being a professional is without doubt the best job in the world. To be able to do something you truly love, and grew up aspiring to do, is something that dreams are made of.

We are all so lucky to be able to do something we love for a ‘living’. However, the reality is this, for many, being a footballer in the League of Ireland does not provide a living.

Aside from Dundalk, who have earned an extra five weeks' pay by qualifying for the group stages of the Europa League, the majority of rest of the clubs in this league will cease paying their players in 14 days time.

On the 7^th of December, the Dundalk players will be lining up to board their flight to Tel Aviv for their final group stage game of the Europa League.

At the very same time, scores of ‘professional’ League of Ireland footballers will be lining up in queues throughout the country waiting to collect their social welfare money.

These are the facts of being a ‘professional’ footballer in Ireland. This is wrong, and symptomatic of some the many issues that face the League of Ireland today. We all have a part to play in correcting this.

There are many stakeholders that can effect change, most notably the clubs themselves and the governing body, the FAI.

It’s that time of year again, folks, when League of Ireland footballers go in search of their nearest social welfare office.