Fabio targets permanent Saints deal

Declan O’Brien has earned hero status in Inchicore due to the impact he has made for St Patrick’s Athletic and he could now be set to turn his loan move into a permanent deal.

The 29-year-old has scored four goals for the club since arriving on loan from Dundalk with all four of his strikes coming in European games – two against Valletta FC and two against Krylya Sovetov.

The St Pat’s fans have quickly warmed to the man known simply as ‘Fabio’ as he has emerged as a key player in Jeff Kenna’s side. The striker himself is just happy to be playing regularly and is pleased by the start he has made with the Dublin club.

“I have really enjoyed my time since arriving here even though I’m not here that long,” O’Brien told Extra Time.

“Things have gone well in the European games, so we are hoping to bring that good run into the league.

“For myself, I’m going into every game now full of confidence, but the team is as well because it is a team effort and when we are picking up good results everyone is confident.”

The Blanchardstown native is one of the most recognisable figures in League of Ireland football due to his long years of service with Drogheda United, where he helped them win the Premier Division title in 2007.

Following the club’s slide into Examinership, O’Brien was forced to look for a new club earlier this year and there were no shortage of suitors. He eventually opted to sign a one-year deal with Dundalk, but his time at Oriel Park turned out to be quite mixed.

Despite producing some good displays for The Lilywhites, he was often left out of the team and rumours of a bust-up with manager Sean Connor started to circulate before St Pat’s came calling. Now he is looking towards the future and a possible long-term deal with the Saints.

“I’ll see what happens. I’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, so I’ll have to wait and see what happens then,” revealed O’Brien when asked whether he would like to stay at Richmond Park on a permanent basis.

“I knew about the interest for a while (from St Pat’s), so it was in the pipeline before something actually happened. Obviously the club had to wait until July to go ahead with the deal.

“The fact that I would be playing European football and Setanta Cup football was a big factor in agreeing to join the club. I also think that St Pat’s can win a trophy this season, so I wanted to be part of that winning team.

“In terms of the future, I’ve always thought about playing at the highest level. I’m 29 now and delighted to be here at St Pat’s, so I’ll have to wait to see what happens.”