Football Season Guide

A regular fixture in the top three of the table at the start of the decade and champions in 2012, Sligo have had a few difficult years following their glory days and narrowly escaped the drop in 2015. Dave Robertson was appointed at the end of the 2015 season in order to steady the ship and did an excellent job, getting Sligo to push for a European place only to fall just short at the end, as his side finished fifth. However, going from ninth to fifth in a season is certainly a good result - Robertson has received a lot of praise for the work he has done but faces a very tough task in the new season, given that two of his side's outstanding performers, Jimmy Keohane and Achille Campione, have left the club to join Cork during the winter. Robertson has decided to attempt an adventurous transfer strategy, having mostly looked abroad for new signings, with the likes of Kyle Callan-McFadden, Jonah Ayunga and Matty Stevens all joining as a consequence. The new boys have received a lot of praise by their manager, but are yet to make their top flight debuts and, until they see them in competitive action, the fans will be feeling uneasy, as Sligo, at least on paper, definitely seem weaker than they were last time around. Given how much some of the other clubs have invested, one cannot but ask whether Sligo are already resigned to only battling against the drop this time around.