Season Preview 2017 - Bohemians

Manager: Keith Long

Stadium: Dalymount Park

Players in: Jamie Doyle (Shelbourne), Greg Murray (Shelbourne), Fuad Sule, Dinny Corcoran (St Patrick's Athletic), Rob Cornwall (Shamrock Rovers) Kaleem Simon, Philip Gannon (Longford Town), Keith Ward (Derry City), Oscar Brennan (Cabinteely).

Players out: Robert Lopes (Shamrock Rovers), Dean Delany, Derek Prendergast, Jason Caffrey (Shelbourne), Keith Buckey (Bray Wanderers), Jake Kelly (Longford Town), Dean O'Halloran (Waterford), Kurtis Byrne (Bohemians), Jamie Hollywood (Drogheda United).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Derek Pender

Derek Pender is probably the first name on the team sheet for anyone picking a team for Bohemians. Pender missed only three games last season for the Gypsies and seems to have fully recovered from the achilles tendon injury that ruled him out for the second half of the 2015 season. He is the type of player who cannot stop hounding attacking players. When speaking the Bohemians programme last season about his achilles injury, he said: “I though someone had kicked me in the heel and turned to give the fella a piece of my mind.” It is that sort of fight and need to get stuck in, “I hated watching the team” he admitted about his time on the sideline in 2015, and that will see Derek lead from defence this season.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Dinny Corcoran

Not a new player to Bohemians fans, Dinny Corcoran returns for his third spell at Bohemians. 28-year-old Corcoran scored three goals in pre-season and will hope to continue that form in the League. Having only made two league starts last season at St Patrick's Athletic he will hope to get back to the form that saw him net 13 for Bohs in 2014 and 12 for Sligo Rovers in 2015. Keith Ward, who also returns to the Gypsies this season, told extratime.ie: “Dinny is one of the most under rated players in the league.” He added: “with him and Izzy [Akinade] up front, it's not guaranteed goals, but we've always got a chance.”

How they did last season:

League: 8^th

FAI Cup: Third round (lost 0-2 to Derry City)

EA Sports Cup: Second round (Lost 4-3(penalties) to Shelbourne)

Bohemians will be disappointed to not have built on their 2015 form last season. Having started off slowly they did not pick up momentum in time to challenge for European places. Although they were never in much danger of getting relegated, Keith Long felt that his side left a good few points on the pitch last season. “There were defeats we could have turned into draws and draws we could have turned into victories,” he told the club's official website.

What to expect this season:

Bohemians will hope to improve on 2016. Three teams will be relegated this season and, having lost some important players, they might find it hard to get off to a strong start. But they have brought back two former players Dinny Corcoran and Keith Ward to fill gaps left by the departures of Kurtis Byrne and Keith Buckley.

Title Odds: 100/1

First game: Derry City (home), 24^th February (kick-off 7.45pm).