Sligo Rovers Preview 2012

Last season: Second (Premier Division)

In: Gary Rogers (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Richard Brush (Shamrock Rovers), Mark Quigley (Dundalk), Lee Lynch (Drogheda United), David Cawley (Ipswich town), Romauld Boco (Shanghai East Asia), Ross Gaynor (Dundalk), Danny North (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Pascal Millien (free agent)

Out: Brendan Clarke (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Derek Foran (Dundalk), Richie Ryan (Dundee United), John Russell (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Daryl Horgan (Cork City), Aaron Greene (Shamrock Rovers), Eoin Doyle (Hibernian), Matthew Blinkhorn (York City), Alan Kirby (Longford Town), Conor Powell (Shamrock Rovers)

Manager: Ian Baraclough

Stadium: The Showgrounds

It’s been an extremely busy off-season for the Bit o’ Red with many new faces making their way to The Showgrounds. The signing of players started before Christmas and Sligo shot up in the bookmakers’ odds.

However, several key players from last year’s FAI Ford Cup winning squad have departed and so too has Paul Cook. That’s the downside for Sligo. The upside is that players like Danny North, Lee Lynch, Ross Gaynor and Pascal Millien will be donning the Sligo shirt this season. The squad is full of exciting players and the fans have a lot to look forward to.

It’s not ideal to be without a manager so close to the start of the season but whoever comes in has a strong squad there for them and high expectations from fans. Last year, Sligo were contenders for the title and came so close but it wasn’t enough. They did bring home a trophy from their annual trip to the FAI Ford Cup final which they won when they defeated Shels.

A promising sign for the North-Western team is that their back four will remain the same as last year. That defence proved crucial in the 2011 season and won the team many plaudits. Rovers need to emerge from the starting blocks as soon as they hear the gun if they want to be in with a shout of winning the league this year.

 First up for the bit O’ Red is an away to Shelbourne. It’s a tasty fixture and the Dublin side will be well up for revenge. With such a strong squad, Sligo are sure to be fighting for the title but they will face very strong competition from last year’s winners Shamrock Rovers along with St Pat’s, Derry and Cork.

ExtraTime.ie Prediction: 2nd