Changes keeping Mahon's squad fresh

Pete Mahon’s St Patrick’s Athletic take on Derry City in Richmond Park on Friday evening but the experienced manager has admitted the difficulty in trying to keep his squad fresh with so many games to deal with and European competition in the horizon.

Both sides sit in joint third place in the table with 28 points, with eight wins, four draws and three defeats from their opening 15. The Inchicore club have won six from their last seven and are unbeaten in nine games.

“We’re trying to keep players fresh with all the fixtures being played and the European games not far away”, Mahon said. “It’s a juggling act and it can upset the team but our results have been good and the squad is better equipped than I thought.”

“We’ve three big games now in a week with Derry tomorrow, Dundalk on Monday and Drogheda next Friday. After tomorrow’s game we’ve three away fixtures in a row starting with Dundalk and ending with Galway on Monday week. We know a win tomorrow will see us in the top three but we want to be top of the league, never mind the top three; that’s the goal.”

Luckily for Mahon, he has little injuries to worry about but must plan without Derek Pender and Conor Kenna. “Derek Pender took a kick to his instep against Crumlin. He has had an x-ray and there’s nothing broken or no fracture but the Derry game and Monday’s game against Dundalk will probably come too soon for him. Derek and Conor Kenna are the only two out for us and everybody else should be fit.”

Mahon was miffed with other teams injury claims ahead of matches, before making miraculous recoveries in time for the match. “There’s no point in me saying anymore on injuries because that’s really it. Every week I read that the opposition have six players definitely out or fourteen doubtful.”

“They must all want to play against St Pats because they all seem to climb out of their sick beds and make a miraculous recovery by the time kick off comes around, despite them being definitely out.”