Football Season Guide

Limerick are coming from a decent season of return to the top flight, as they managed to finish seventh. They had spells during which they looked capable of pushing for an European place as well as brief spells during which it seemed that they would battle against the drop, but spent the majority of the campaign around midtable and this is where they finished. There was obviously a feeling among the upper management that the Super Blues could deliver more than they did, given that they opted for a managerial change midway through the season and replaced Martin Russell with Neil McDonald, but the results did not really improve following the change. McDonald is no longer at the club, having left midway through December to become a part of the management staff at English League One side Scunthorpe. The Super Blues opted to promote from within and their new manager will be Tommy Barrett, who was in charge of their U19 side last season and has no previous Premier League experience. A few important players have left in the likes of Chiedozie Ogbene, Barry Cotter and Bastian Hery, but the list of arrivals also looks promising, with Danny Morrissey, Daniel Kearns, Connor Ellis and Billy Dennehy all being proven top flight quality. All in all, Limerick do not seem to be weaker than they were last season, but what is a problem for them is that there do not seem to be any obvious relegation candidates this time around.