Richardson upbeat ahead of Man City

The Airtricity XI were represented at their press conference in the Aviva today by manager Damien Richardson, assistant manager Kenny Cunningham and team captain Barry Molloy. The representative side projected an air of confidence as they fielded questions about their preparations and hopes ahead of facing Manchester City and Celtic.

"The preparation is going particularly well. The difference between this and last year's engagement is that there is a very competitive element to the preparations, which will be part and parcel of the weekend to come. That gives players focus, the focus they're used to week in, week out with their clubs. We're working to an end. The players take centre stage tomorrow; Kenny and I step back, a little bit anyway, and they players go and do their job, which is the most important part. The quality in the squad is there to see, if they play to the maximum and perform to their real potential, that is success from our point of view. But of course results would also be a very important part, we understand that."

Richardson was unsurprisingly asked to comment on the media reports of dissatisfaction within the Airtricity camp at their treatment by FAI. The veteran boss was at pains to point out that the whole affair was blown well out of proportion.

"There was never any unhappiness. I understand where it came from obviously, which I'm not happy about, but it didn't impact [us] in any way whatsoever. The reality of the situation this week is that the players want to play and that is the absolute truth. The distractions were just that, distractions, they weren't any contentious issues, there weren't any threats, there wasn't any disagreement. It was kept very civil, it was kept out in the open, on our part anyway, and it was gone by Wednesday evening and that was the end of it."

Amongst the most concerning allegations during the week was the story that Richardson's players were prepared to walk away from the tournament in protest, but he was again quick to stress that this was simply not the case.

"I don't know where that came from, that was scandalous because the players never threatened to pull out. I spoke to the players on Wednesday morning, our first morning together; brought up the point about the appearance, and they said that they would like more money so I said I'd go and ask. And it was as civil as that, we kept it as civil as that all the way through. Where the hysteria came from, well it's not beyond me but, it shouldn't have arisen."

Assistant manager and ex-Ireland international, Kenny Cunningham was visibly enjoying his involvement with the team and spoke about his role within its set-up.

"My biggest impact was probably on the training pitch [and] it's a position I take very seriously. The players will be ready, they'll be prepared. For me, as a player, what gave me confidence was if I was well prepared to face the opposition team. Hopefully that's how the lads feel going into the game tomorrow. There's a lot of eagerness in the squad, a lot of energy, I think we sensed that on the training pitch today. We've had a good week, we were baking in the sunshine out in Tallaght on Thursday morning; Barry will tell you, we had to hide in the shade, it was fantastic. The lads put a huge amount of effort in, [there's been] a lot of intensity with two training sessions a day, and that's maybe something the lads wouldn't be used to. Hopefully we struck the right balance."

Cunningham was also firm in his belief that this tournament could act as a stage for numerous players within the Airtricity squad to display their talents to other teams, both domestic and abroad.

"I think it is, absolutely. I think all the lads realise that, young and old. You want to go out there and yeah individually you want to shine but I think everybody realises that for that happen, collectively, we have to perform as a unit. There could be rewards for people, [a chance] to step up levels within the league, but also to step across the water and into Championship, and maybe Premiership, football."

Damien RIchardson's Airtricity XI will open the Dublin Super Cup tomorrow when they play Manchester City (kick-off 2pm).