Bohemians boss Pete Mahon feels it is only a matter of time before an eircom League side makes a significant impact in European football. Although his own team lost out 2-0 at Swedish side Halmstad last night in the second leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie - giving Halmstad a 4-1 victory on aggregate - Mahon is confident that as Irish domestic football improves, so will their chances of progressing in European competitions.
"I think the day is not too far away when you’ll see a National League side having a very, very good chance of getting into the Champions League group stages," he said. "We went close this year. Ok, you can say we were beaten 4-1 but we went very, very close against Halmstad. With the advent of full-time training and the league really getting organised at home, the teams are getting better all the time and the standards are improving. I don’t think it’s too far away at all."
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
