Shamrock Rovers -v- Tottenham Hotspur

• Simon O'Gorman
• Thu, Dec 15 2011




 

After three successful years at Tallaght, Michael O’Neill will bid farewell to Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night as they face Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of 2011. (Kick-off, 6.00pm)

 

When the fixtures for Europa League Group A were first drawn, the final round meeting of Shamrock Rovers and Spurs was seen as the perfect end to a season that has seen the Hoops break new ground for Irish clubs i European competition.

 

Since then, the club retained their league title and appear to have set themselves up financially to continue their recent dominance of the domestic scene. But the announcement that manager Michael O’Neill will be leaving the club after the final whistle on Thursday night has somewhat overshadowed a game that now has little competitive relevance.

 

Having lost all five of their group games to date, Rovers have nothing to play for in terms of the Group A table, while Tottenham’s qualification hangs also appears unlikely. Harry Redknapp’s men need to win handsomely against Rovers and hope that PAOK can beat Rubin Kazan in the other Group A game. Even then the North London club will need a five goal swing if they are to qualify for the knockout stages.

 

The extent to which Tottenham value further adventure on the European stage will probably reflected in the team that they will send out at Tallaght, with the bulk of their star players not expected to play. Redknapp will have one eye on Sunday’s clash with Sunderland but Spurs have real quality in reserve and with Rovers now out of season it is likely to be a testing evening for Michael O’Neill’s side.

 

While the Spurs team will not represent their strongest XI, O’Neill has only two concerns ahead of the game, Striker Gary O’Neill is definitely out and goalkeeper Ryan Thompson is doubtful with a shoulder injury. But central defender Craig Sives is fit to play.