Shamrock Rovers are, once again, the team to beat as the 2024 SSE Airtricity League Men's Premier Division kicks off on Friday night.
Stephen Bradley's side made history in 2023 by securing the record-equalling four-in-a-row, and a very deserving accolade for a team that has set the standard and exceeded expectations over the past four years.
The drive for five begins at home in the season opener as they take on Dundalk on Friday night in what could be Rovers' biggest league attendance since moving to their new home at Tallaght Stadium.
With four stands now open and increasing its stature as the best League of Ireland ground in the country, Rovers could see close to nine thousand through the gates, which would be the biggest home league crowd since their first game at the RDS back in 1991 where 25,000 turned up.
Friday’s opponents will harbour their own ambitions of challenging for this year’s title, to bring back the glory days of recent times to Oriel Park, however, it remains to be seen if Stephen O’Donnell’s emerging outfit can bridge the very big gap between the two sides.
The real threat to Rovers securing their fifth title in a row is most likely to come from the 2023 main challengers, Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic, however, if Friday night’s President’s Cup final is any indicator, it would appear that the gap between the Hoops and Saints has widened.
It could be argued that Rovers biggest threat last season came from within, as they stuttered out of the blocks in the opening round of fixtures.
They got there in the end, however, and with a bit to spare, and it will be the other clubs who will rue the 2023 campaign, which was there for the taking with Derry, St Pat’s and early frontrunners, Bohemians, unable to take advantage of the head-start afforded from Rovers poor results.
On reflection, Bradley admitted that the pressure of winning the fourth title – to match the famous Pat Byrne-led Shamrock Rovers team of the 1980s – coupled with early season mental fatigue were the main stumbling blocks last season.
Winning title number four took away one major pressure for the upcoming season, and Bradley looked within to tackle the other as he felt that he made a mistake of not giving the players enough time off ahead of the last league start.
This year, the players were given seven weeks off, while they have also made changes in the strength and conditioning department, which, Bradley believes, should counter the mental fatigue issue.
The Hoops offered a taste of what is to come this season as they steamrolled Saints on Friday night, and after the game, Bradley declared that his side were "physically and mentally" ready for the upcoming season.
The pressure of winning the title may be less than last season, however, success brings expectation and the Hoops demanding fan base will be no less critical in their appraisal from the stands.
Bradley, however, has created a squad that constantly crave improvement and while they won title number four for the club and the supporters, they will surely strive for five for themselves, knowing that it will put them at the very top of the pile in the legacy-making department.
Likewise, the manager is similarly pragmatic, and will want to see an overall improvement in his team’s performances this season, knowing that a strong start to the campaign will ultimately help matters when it comes to advancing in Europe during the summer.
As mentioned, St Pat’s did nothing to suggest that they were title contenders in Friday’s clash, however, following the game, manager Jon Daly was not too downhearted.
Daly was full of doom and gloom when analysing his side’s performance in the President’s Cup as he felt that his team, and his strong players in particular, did not show up for the opening encounter with the Hoops, however, he knows that his side are better and is confident that they will be ready to go against Galway in the league opener.
The Saints sent out a strong starting XI and, on paper, they should certainly give a much better account of themselves throughout with a really strong spine in the team, improved with off-season additions, including Ruairi Keating who will lead a strong line up top, while other signings, including Brandon and Cian Kavanagh from Derry will improve the team.
Likewise, Derry have strengthened their squad with the arrival of Dundalk duo Patrick Hoban and Daniel Kelly and will be confident of taking the challenge to Rovers this season.
The perennial problem of their home performances, playing on an artificial surface, may again hamper their chances, however, despite losing some players, they offer a strong sense of continuity with an established squad that has been building over the past few seasons.
Shelbourne’s top-four finish last season should allow the Tolka Park outfit arrive into the new campaign with a bit more swagger and the next step for Damien Duff will be to see his side mix it at the top of the table.
Duff has recruited well during the close season, bringing real quality into the squad with Liam Burt, John Martin and Will Jarvis as well as adding the experience of Sean Gannon who arrives from the champions.
Elsewhere, it is hard to see a challenge coming out of the pack, but among the remaining six – including the newly promoted Galway and Waterford – there is very little to choose between the sides and it is unlikely that any one team will be cast adrift at the bottom of the table.
Both Galway and Waterford have the quality, and managerial know-how, to stay in the division, which sets it up for one of the established league sides to flirt with relegation to the First Division.
Drogheda have probably strengthened over the break, while Bohemians may rue the loss of their talismanic striker Jonathan Afolabi, although they have brought in Dayle Rooney, as well as a trio of Estonians.
Sligo Rovers had six points to spare in the relegation race last season, finishing eighth, ahead of Cork City, who were beaten in the play-off.
And it looks like it may be another tough season for John Russell’s side to maintain the pace throughout 2024, however, the manager was handed a very timely boost on the eve of the new campaign as goalscorer Max Mata has returned to The Showgrounds following a short spell in Shrewsbury.
