Season Preview: Sligo Rovers

Sligo Rovers

Year Founded: 1928
Stadium: The Showgrounds
Manager: Ian Baraclough
Key Player: Joseph Ndo

After last year’s historic season, expectations at the Sligo club for this season is that they will again challenge for the title.

Manager Ian Baraclough has had to deal with some high-profile departures during the off-season, but he has also been working hard to add players that will assist his squad in their attempted title defence.

They pre-season got off to a good start with a 3-0 win against a Sligo/Leitrim representative side and they have remained undefeated as they prepare to start their season. Their run of friendlies included a 5-0 victory over Salthill Devon, a 4-0 win against Jersey, a 1-1 draw with Finn Harps, a 3-1 victory against Ballinamallard Utd and most recently they thumped Castlebar Celtic 7-0.

The addition of Anthony Elding and Aaron Greene along with the confirmation that key members of last years championship winning side such as Joseph Ndo and Raffaele Cretaro are staying at the club, means that there will be again competition for places at the Showgrounds this season. Shamrock Rovers made a concerted effort to tempt some of the star players from Sligo last year to Tallaght and Jason McGuinness, Mark Quigley and Richard Brush all decided to make the switch to the other “Rovers” during the winter break.

Quigley will be a big loss as his goals made a massive contribution to their title win, however, if Danny North remains fit this season the club still have a proven goal scorer in their ranks.

Shamrock Rovers look like the team to beat this season, but despite their acquisition of a star-studded squad last season they failed to live up to the pundits expectations. The Bit’O’Red will be confident that they still have the players and management team to mount another title challenge. They will have to cope with the pressure of being champions but after winning their first tile since 1977 last year, it could be argued that there will still be less pressure on the Sligo outfit than Shamrock Rovers.

Manager Ian Baraclough was a breath of fresh air for the league last year in both his approach to the game and also in the open way he dealt with the media. He now faces the difficult challenge of matching his debut season and keeping the new fans his team have attracted to the league coming back to The Showgrounds on a regular basis. Champions League football will be a huge boost for the club and a chance for Baraclough to test his skills in the world’s premier club competition. It will be a tough ask for Sligo to retain their title but some silverware will be the minimum the club expect come the end of the season.