Saints boss Buckley raring to go

WITH a week to go before the new season kicks off St Patrick’s Athletic supremo Liam Buckley is pleased with the strides his team have made in preparation for the start of the season. The early competitive action has really whetted Buckley’s appetite for the return of Friday night football.

“Pre-seasons gone well, without tempting fate. With a week left to go we’ve already have had two competitive games (Leinster Senior Cup and Setanta Sports Cup) and have Sligo this weekend (in the Presidents Cup). I really prefer these types of games in pre-season, they have that edge and intensity that you wouldn’t find in friendly matches.”

When questioned about the signings brought to Inchicore in the off season, Buckley was in no doubt of the quality that he will have at his disposal this season and appeared almost gracious to Trevor Croly for his “gifts” of a number of Hoops players from last season who will be lining out in Richmond Park after being snapped up on free transfers.

“We’ve brought in six or seven players and I’m sure they’ll all do the job, we got Ken Oman, James Chambers and Conor McCormack from Shamrock Rovers who will add to the squad and then you have your Fahey’s and Quigley’s who will push us on from last year. It’s the managers prerogative whether players stay or go, and Trevor Croly released them, but I am are delighted to welcome them and if they play as well as they train, I have no doubt that they will be a success here.”

Buckley is obviously excited about playing in the Champions League this year but he is remaining cautious about their chances of progressing in the competition.

“We are in the Champions League, just look at the opposition Drogheda and Derry came up against last year, their resources are phenomenal compared to us but there is nothing wrong with our players, they are talented but it is the expertise the opposition have, training programs and strength & conditioning, they are zipped from head to toe. There are no easy games but we are going to take the first tie and see where we can go from there, hopefully we can win a few games.”

The Pat’s boss was unfazed by the prospect of losing some of his stars to suitors across the water.

“That is always a possibility, but if it happens I’ll be the first to wish them well. We are lucky that Chris (Forrester) has stood out in recent seasons and I have no doubt that he is good enough to play in Britain but there are a lot of kids in this country that can play and they just need time and the right opportunity.”

When asked if the Super Saints can make it two-in-a-row, Buckley played it cool.

“I don’t see it as two-in-a-row but as winning this year’s league, we can push on from last year and we have strengthened but so have the other teams around us. It’s going to be competitive and challenging and only one team can win it, we want a spot in Europe but so does everyone else and there’s only three places up for grabs. That being said I see us being in the mix at the end of the season.”