EMMET MALONE ON SOCCER: This brilliant Bohemians team have left all their traditional rivals chasing after scraps

IT MIGHT prove a tough outing for St Patrick's Athletic at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin this evening. But after the way their hopes of improving on last year's second place in the title race have been battered in recent weeks, John McDonnell and his men are probably glad of any distraction.

The Inchicore outfit started the season looking just about best placed of four sides to capitalise in the event Drogheda United failed to defend their title. With two months of the campaign to go, though, they need a miracle to catch their cross-city rivals, whose astonishing form has left McDonnell's men looking for consolation in various cups.

You have to feel sorry for them, because in a campaign most people felt would be even tighter than last year's and therefore won with fewer points, they have six points more than at the same stage 12 months ago.

Far from being on course for the title, however, they are probably resigned to seeing Bohemians crowned as many as six games short of season's end.

There will be some unhappiness at Shamrock Rovers but even they cannot argue about Bohemians' entitlement to call themselves the premier division's best side this year.

As it happens, Pat Fenlon's men are the top flight's leading scorers but the statistics make clear it's in defence they have really excelled.

Prior to this season the record low for goals conceded - eight - had been held by St James's Gate; it was set way back in the first year of the league.

Bohemians have matched that figure having played three more games and, remarkably, they've been getting better with the passing months; Brian Murphy has been beaten just once in the last 13 games as his side put together a run that simply blew away all rivals.

What makes the achievement all the more surprising is that while Fenlon certainly has a strong squad his options have been severely limited at times.

Like Drogheda last year, Bohemians had been hit with waves of injuries that have forced Fenlon to improvise, particularly in defence.

Even when three of the back four were playing out of position and the fourth was a utility player used to playing in central midfield, they more than held their own.

Murphy, of course, has been inspired at times, but on other nights he could have put grease on his gloves for all the difference it would have made.

With the money expected to come in for the sale of Dalymount over the next few years, a steady improvement in the team's fortunes had been expected.

It had started, in fact, under Seán Connor, whose work to rebuild the squad, though not flawless, provided Fenlon with the core of this team.

What's been remarkable, though, has been the accelerated progress this year - an average yield of about 2.5 points, or 0.9 extra per game, produced by much the same group of players.

A couple of years back, Bohemians were languishing in the bottom half of the table. Now, assuming they keep their foot on the pedal, they are on course to break numerous records.

If this superiority merely reflected the club's spending, it would hardly be surprising. But Bohemians are believed to be only fourth in the league in terms of wages, and several of their brighter stars this year are on relatively modest money.

Up front, the club has gathered together three of the league's most admired strikers of the last decade; Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne are the two most prolific and Neale Fenn is perhaps the most technically gifted exponent of the deeper-lying role.

The left winger Killian Brennan has, however, been Bohemians' leading scorer, with 10, and the real success of the side in this department has been the ability to generate goals from every area of the field, the likes of Owen Heary and Mark Rossiter chipping in small but significant numbers toward the total of 40.

At times, the football produced has been wonderful; at others, less so. But what Fenlon has clearly instilled is a terrific will to win, great flexibility and great team spirit as well as that most precious of qualities, the ability to grind results out when they are not actually playing opponents off the park.

Down at Turner's Cross the locals reckoned they had been robbed a few weeks back but no matter, Bohemians took all three points thanks to a single Crowe goal because Cork City could not break them down.

More recently, Murphy had to make a succession of fine saves to keep Sligo Rovers at bay but again the win was secured.

I was out of the country when they beat St Patrick's but it seems they returned to their best for that game to cruise past the Southsiders and leave even the most optimistic of their rivals' fans with little but mathematical possibilities to cling to.

For Fenlon, the title, when it is confirmed, will underline his status as the country's most successful young manager, with four championships secured before the age of 40.

Giovanni Trapattoni observed last week that titles don't fall from the sky and that the Dubliner is clearly a major talent.

Dermot Keely, who knows even more about the man and the league, is convinced his former Shelbourne player will rewrite the record books over the next couple of decades unless he is lured away from the league or somehow loses interest.

The latter seem unlikely in the immediate future and it will be interesting to see how he looks to change such a successful side during the close season.

John Paul Kelly, Thomas Heary and Stephen O'Donnell are among the players out of contract. And the club are already trying to make Mindaugas Kalonas's stay a much longer one.

Kalonas has been particularly impressive since moving from the left to the second striker's role.

Another Fenlon signing, Gary Deegan, has been quietly imposing in central midfield since arriving from Galway United.

There have been countless rumours about players the clubs are said to have approached for next year, however, and Drogheda United's Paul Keegan is said to be high on the list.

If, as is claimed, Fenlon's budget is not to rise despite the prospect of the Champions League qualifiers there will be some tough choices to be made.

When Fenlon left Tolka Park in 2006 he erred in making his next career move.

Since then, however, it seems his instincts have been as flawless as his team are these days untouchable.