As Derry City approached the latter end of last season with an FAI Cup final on the cards, the big question mark over them was whether they could get hold of some silverware to use as a launchpad to challenge more intensely for domestic supremacy in the future.
They answered the first part of that by winning the cup decider emphatically and in a good omen for this coming season, Ruaidhrí Higgins' side defeated reigning SSE Airtricity League three-in-a-row champions Shamrock Rovers 2-0 last Friday in the curtain-raising President's Cup final.
In the recent past, Cork City and the Hoops have made the leap from cup winners to league champions so can Derry follow suit this season?
Former St Patrick's Athletic and Shelbourne midfielder Conan Byrne pondered that question on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast as last season's runners-up gear up for their league opener at Richmond Park on Friday night.
Conan Byrne and former Cork City defender Neal Horgan joined Raf Diallo to preview the Premier and First Division seasons:
"I think the President's Cup was huge just in terms of that belief," he said on the bumper 2023 season preview.
"Derry were brilliant on the night. I know Shamrock Rovers' team wouldn't have been full-strength but having said that, it's just the way Derry played and the quality on the ball (and) their energy for a pre-season game."
Byrne believes Higgins has done good business in the transfer market with incomings like Adam O'Reilly, Ben Doherty and Ireland Under-21 international Colm Whelan who won't be back from injury for another few weeks but is expected to make a big impact once the former UCD forward returns to full fitness.
"I've talked about Adam O'Reilly so much over the last 12 months since he came in at St Pat's last year and the energy he brought to that team," said Byrne.
"His energy levels are absolutely incredible. He must be one of the fittest in the league and him and (Sadou) Diallo on Friday were a joy to watch.
Conan Byrne tipped Derry to win the league in the predictions corner of the podcast:
"And then you have Patrick McEleney to come in as well into that midfield. I just love the way they play.
"I like their style of play, how they play out from the back, their widemen. They're so direct. We saw Ryan Graydon in the cup final and how good he was against Shelbourne.
"Ben Doherty has come in from Larne. I played against Ben a few times both in the League of Ireland and in the Northern Irish league when I was with Glenavon and the change in him between when he was first with Derry to where he is now has been incredible.
"The confidence he has got from playing up the North has been remarkable. He can play in a number of positions as well: left-back, left wing-back - a bit like Trevor Clarke - and left wing. But he is very much attacking.
"I was a right-sided midfielder and I would have hated to come up against Ben Doherty and Michael Duffy on that side and I can only imagine that full-backs and wingers on that side will be very reluctant to come up against those two on a given Friday evening.
"So I'm really looking forward to seeing how they get on, obviously Colm Whelan and Jamie McGonigle as well up front. Cian Kavanagh has done really well in pre-season, scoring goals. You would've probably put him at third choice but with the goals that he's scoring in pre-season he started the other night.
"Ruaidhrí Higgins isn't afraid to make those decisions. McGonigle was in flying form last year, hit double figures, but Cian Kavanagh starts the season. Really interesting to see how it goes (for Derry)."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
