Just over a month after last season ended with Bray Wanderers's victory in the FAI Cup final, the new campaign gets under way at Tolka Park tomorrow (kick-off 3.00 p.m.) when Shelbourne take on Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax in the first qualifying round of the Inter-Toto Cup.
The Dubliners insist that they are keen to progress in the competition, but the timing of the game has certainly not helped their cause with two players, Paul Doolin and Stephen Geoghegan, unavailable for either leg of the tie as they are on holidays, while other players, including full-back Declan Geoghegan, have only just returned in time for the game.
Tony McCarthy's ankle injury, still a problem from last season, means that he will also miss the games and there are doubts about Richie Baker, Stephen Gifford and new recruit Gary Haylonk, all of whom picked up knocks in training this week.
The Shelbourne players have been studying videos of Neuchatel in action and Dermot Keely has been exploiting Don Givens's old links with the club in order to get an insight into their preparations. The visitors, who finished sixth in the Swiss first division, should comfortably have the upper hand in terms of fitness, their league campaign having only finished in the middle of last week, but there are reported to be some disputes within the camp with regard to new contracts and it is possible that some of the panel will be left behind for this first game.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, Kilkenny City yesterday named former Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and St James' Gate manager Pat Byrne as the successor to Alfie Hale at Buckley Park.
"We're delighted to settled on somebody with so much experience," said club secretary Jim Rhatigan yesterday, "and we're looking forward to seeing Pat carry on the great work that Alfie had done here during his time here."
Byrne said that he had missed out on the day-to-day involvement with the game during his time working on the development of Shamrock Rovers's new ground in Tallaght and that he is now looking forward to the new challenge.
"There's a lot to do, particularly in the next few weeks when I'll be looking to talk to everybody and sort out players for next season, but I'm excited about it all and am just keen to get started," said Byrne last night.
Both he and Rhattigan insisted the club would be sticking to its policy of drawing its players mainly from the south-east region, but Byrne added: "We'll give everybody a chance to prove themselves and see what we have to do to build a team capable of not only winning promotion but then surviving in the Premier Division."
