Stephen O’Donnell admits that he would have questioned the sanity of anyone who predicted Dundalk’s success when a squad of “strangers” assembled three years ago.
The Lilywhites captain has led his side to back-to-back Premier Division titles, secured with a 1-1 draw at Shamrock Rovers last week, with three games left to play.
Amazingly, Stephen Kenny’s team have suffered just one loss – to Bohemians in June – in 30 SSE Airtricity games.
They are also through to the FAI Cup final on 8 November against erstwhile league rivals Cork City.
And the winning skipper was eager to praise manager Kenny, who was sacked by the Hoops in 2012.
“Three years ago I remember we turned up in the middle of January and no-one knew each other,” O’Donnell told RTÉ’s Soccer Republic.
“There were 15 or 16 lads and we were all strangers and if you’d told me in three years’ time you’d have won the league twice, come second that first season, be in a cup final now with a chance of winning the double I would have said you’re crazy.
“It’s the best managerial job domestically I think that’s ever been done. The level of success we’ve had from where we’ve come from with unheralded players like myself [and] a lot of injuries.
“People obviously didn’t rate lads like Richie [Towell], who was playing with Bluebell, Andy Boyle, Dane Massey, these types of lads who’ve been in the league a long time and now are definitely the best players in the league in their positions so it’s a phenomenal achievement from the manager.”
“Three years ago I remember we turned up in the middle of January and no-one knew each other"
Despite their domestic achievements, the former Arsenal youth player says that improving their form in Europe remains a priority.
This summer the County Louth side lost out to eventual Champions League group-stage qualifiers BATE Borisov of Belarus.
“It was a big target,” said the Galway man.
“Us players, we want the league to get more recognition and I think the only way you’ll get people from the outside to respect you as players is by doing something in Europe.
“BATE was a very tough draw to get – look at the result last week, they beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League.
“I don’t think we could have any complaints at getting knocked out. We were more than a match for them over there, the second leg we didn’t play as well as we could but we only went out 2-1 on aggregate.
“There is no doubt that will be a big aim for us next year. We going to have to build again, we improved this year, we’re going to have to improve again next year both home and abroad if we’re going to do anything again.”
The star of Dundalk’s team has undoubtedly been Towell. The midfielder has hit a stunning 25 goals this season.
O’Donnell compared the ex-Celtic man’s contribution to that of former Premier League stars Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
“Richie has improved but I think the whole squad has improved.
“Most of the lads are young, Richie’s only young so the way he lives his life, the way most of the lads live their lives, they are only going to get better. I think the team has improved together.
“Richie has 22 league goals – if you got that from your whole midfield the manager would be happy enough but 22 league goals from one midfielder is unheard of in this league anyway. People praise Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard for that amount, it’s invaluable to a team.”
O’Donnell also hailed the spirit in the Oriel Park camp.
“It’s the first club I’ve been to in Ireland where everyone actually lives it. If you get a bad result you are basically depressed for the week. You can’t wait to get back out the next week," he said.
“Everyone is like that, everyone goes to the gym off their own bat. There’s no-one checking up 'when did you go to the gym?'
“If you don’t go you know you’re going to fall behind in the group, it’s going to be obvious and you won’t get your game.
“The camaraderie: it’s the best squad I’ve been involved in. I think the subs, the people who don’t play are the most important people in your squad and their attitude and the intensity they bring to training every day is crucial.”
