Football Season Guide

The previous season saw St Patricks' run of five consecutive top four finishes come to an end, as they could only finish seventh after enduring a season which saw them have two lengthy runs during which they struggled to pick up points. However, their big saving brace was the fact that they managed to win League Cup, one of the big three trophies of Irish football, and it is rather questionable if Liam Buckley would have still been in charge had it not been for that achievement. They had one of the biggest squads in the division last season and it was hardly a surprise that they opted to trim it a bit during the course of the summer. However, while having a say in the departures of many of their now former players, they also lost some of those that they were hoping to keep hold of, such as Sean Hoare and Jamie McGrath, two very important players for them, who will be playing their football at champions Dundalk this season. Having said that, the Pats have at least resisted the temptation to be too adventurous and brought in proven Premier League quality, so they once again have a decent squad and will be looking to improve on their previous campaign, in which they believe to have underperformed.