Season Preview 2014 - Waterford United

Manager: Tommy Griffin

Stadium: Regional Sports Centre (RSC)

Players In: Kevin Burns (Cork City), Matthew Connor (Tramore AFC), Gavin O’Donovan (Villa FC), Shaun Corcoran (Wexford Youths), Gary Delaney (Wexford Youths), Thomas Whitty (Tramore AFC), Paddy Barrett (Dundee United), Jack Doherty (Ipswich Town - Loan), Brian Nolan (Wexford Youths), Shane Murray (Bohemians), Thomas Croke (Wexford Youths), Stephen Kenny (Cork City), Kynan Rocks  (Cobh Ramblers), Willie John Kiely.

Players Out: Craig Hyland (Shamrock Rovers), Ben Ryan (Wexford Youths), Peter Higgins (Wexford Youths). 

Released: Chip Sanders, Dylan Mernagh, Danny Furlong - end of loan, Marco Chindea, Francis Rockett, David Breen.

Extratime.ie Key Man: Gavin Kavanagh

Gavin Kavanagh was the outstanding performer last season and was a rock at the heard of The Blues defence. The centre back joined the club from Cork City and was immediately a fans favourite after a string of superb performances. Whether partnered with different centre back options, Kavanagh was up to the task. The defender has shone again in pre-season, and with another year of League of Ireland experience behind him, Kavanagh will be a key man for Waterford United this season.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Shane Murray

Shane Murray has only been at The Blues a number of months but already the midfielder looks like a big player for Waterford United this season. The former Sheffield United player has been the central point in The Blues in pre-season and has been one of the creative sparks that have helped The Blues get some good results and put in some good performances in their pre-season so far. Murray also became an internet hit when a video of him scoring directly from a corner against Limerick in a pre-seaosn friendly and went viral with over 130,000 hits on youtube.

How they did last season:

League: 4^th

FAI Cup: Second Round

EA Sports Cup: Second Round

Setanta Sports Cup: N/A

Top League Goalscorer: Ben Ryan – 7 goals

What to expect for 2014:

Pre-season has had its ups and downs but the oversall feeling is that of positivity. A good base of quality players have been regained from last season and a new line of young, talented local players have been brought in to fill the voids. A squad with more depth is now ready for another shot at promotion, and promotion is the main aim of this season. While the management and players wont be getting ahead of themselves, they are confident that the quality in the squad is good enough to mount a challenge for promotion.

Title Odds: 11/2 (best odds available)

First Game: vs Finn Harps (Finn Park - Fri 7^th March 2014)