Almeida targeting Euro spot

Sligo Rovers defender Mauro Almeida is aiming to extend his contract with the Bit O'Red to the end of the season and hopes to lead Paul Cook's charges into contention for a European berth.

Almeida, signed from Accrington Stanley before the start of the season, is contracted to the Showgrounds club until July. But, after some towering displays at the heart of what has become a lean defence, he hopes to extend his stay beyond that date.

He said: "I really like it here and I will have talks with the club and with the gaffer. It will be hard though because Sligo do not have a lot of money, but we will see later.

"My target of course is to play with the top clubs and I do hope to one day play in Europe, but for now I am in this League and I have to show myself and what I am able to do."

Sligo are unbeaten in their last five games and have kept four clean sheets in that spell, leaving Almeida hopeful but cautious when asked if he could perhaps live his Euro dream with the Yeats County side. "I believe that in this team we have great players and they show great attitude," commented the 26-year-old Portuguese man. "We have to just take it game-by-game and then we will see where we are at the end of the season.

After losing three of their first four games of the season, Sligo have hit form, helped in no small part by the presence of Almeida, who netted the winner in last week's derby game at Finn Harps.

"It was a very important one because it gave us three points. It was a great delivery by Faz (Fahrudin Kuzozovic) and I was delighted to get my second of the season and this one gave us a win," he added. "The numbers speak for themselves - we have five clean sheets from eight games and that is great for us. Last season, Sligo didn't keep a lot (of clean sheets) and I am delighted to be a part of it. It is because of the work of all the players."

This weekend, Sligo play host to Pat Scully's Shamrock Rovers - a game that Almeida says has huge incentives for his side. "We just have to keep going and keep working. Shamrock Rovers will be a hard fight for us, but if we win we can go up the table again and that is where we have to be aiming to."