Mahon happy with pre-season preparation

In the run up to the much anticipated kick off to the 2011 Airtricity League, St. Patrick’s Athletic boss Pete Mahon spoke exclusively with extratime.ie about new signings, his expectations for the season ahead and the importance of the Setanta Cup.

“Well, so far pre-season has been very good, except for last Tuesday when we had a game called off – that was a setback. Players have mixed really well, the new players that have come in to the club joined the ones from last season. All in all it has been very positive.”

“We wanted to have some continuity from last year, because there was a total of nine players that left the club between the end of the season and mid-January. We were able to bring in seven, and we have four lads who have stepped up from the U20 side from last year.”

“We will have a panel of 21 players and there will be a good mix of youth and experience, with the likes of Dave Mulcahy, Conor Kenna and Gary Rogers staying. Every manager would like to have a couple of more players, and I am no different given the fact now that we are going to be in Europe. When the transfer window opens in July, we will try and raise some funds for that as well.”

St. Patrick’s Athletic will now play European football this year, taking the position of fellow Dubliners Sporting Fingal. This is a huge addition to the clubs calendar, for both players and management alike.

“In all, we will be competing in six competitions this year. We will have to try and get a good start like we did last season, and build a bit of momentum. I felt the club should have been in Europe on our own right, and not through on a back door system.”

“No one wants any club to go out of business, but it’s the same old story every year. Clubs want to have a look at themselves. We are going to concentrate on ourselves; we have enough on our own plate to be worrying about anyone else. I hope this season is a watershed. We had a fans meeting last night which I attended, and the wasteful days are gone now. Only for Gareth Kelleher, who knows what would have happened to the club.”

“We are in a situation now where we cut our cloth to suit our measure, and I hope this season is a new beginning for the league. There are less and less full time teams now. I said years ago and I was called all kinds of names, but I said I didn’t think this country could sustain full time football, and unfortunately I have been proved right. Maybe we are going to get some sense of reality, and it is shaping up to be a really interesting season.”

“If we are going to improve on last season, we are going to have to win something. We got to the final of the Setanta Cup last year; we were in the top two placed in the league up until the last round of matches. We got beaten in the Semi final of the FAI Cup in the replay. If we don’t win something, at the very minimum we need to qualify for European football.”

The Saints travel to Cliftonville on Monday, 21st February to kick off their 2011 Setanta Cup Campaign. The Inchicore side suffered a heart breaking loss to Bohemians in last year’s final, and Mahon will be keen on returning to the final yet again. “We got in to the final of it last year, and we will be hoping to do the same again this year all going well. Cliftonville are doing quite well, they have had a couple of setbacks there in the Cup but in the league they are fairly consistent. We are still in pre-season, but it’s a competition we take very serious.”

“I still think it is a very good competition. You play against clubs you don’t usually play against. It is something different and I hope it is a competition that is continued as it is one of the real positives of football in this country.”