Bohemians boss Alan Reynolds is ready to give 16-year-old striker Hugh Martin a chance on the big stage ahead of Sunday's glamour SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division clash against St Patrick's Atletic at Aviva Stadium.
For the second year in a row Bohs will kickstart their league campaign at Lansdowne Road, and will hope for a repeat of last year's 1-0 defeat of Shamock Rovers at the venue.
Reynolds brought in some fresh faces over the winter, but one that has the potential to really turn heads is teenager Martin, who was signed from UCD back in December.
At the time Reynolds described Martin as "an exceptionally talented young player", with the new arrival's exploits over pre-season heightening the sense that Bohs might have a youngster primed to make a genuine impact in the division.
"In fairness to (director of football) Pat Fenlon and (head of the academy) Trevor Croly, it's one that they watched and brought him in," Reynolds told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue.
"He's come in, he's blown everyone away with how good he's been.
"There's a lot of really good young players in the country at the minute. Obviously, Mason Melia's moved away (from St Pat's to Tottenham) and we won't put as much pressure on Hugh, but he'll play a part this year."
When asked if Martin will play a part on Sunday, Reynolds replied: "I would think so. I don't want to put too much pressure on him. The Bohs fans love young players getting opportunities, so we have to bring players through the academy. He's one that's come in now and is an exciting prospect."
Reynolds is relishing the return to the Aviva; just getting on the grass again is a bonus given the incessantly wet weather that's lashed the country recently.
Bohs boss Alan Reynolds speaks to @Corktod about his side's preparation for the new Premier Division campaign, and says exciting 16-year-old attacker Hugh Martin could feature in Sunday's clash against St Pat's at Aviva Stadium #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/1bXnc6R9ZW
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 5, 2026
"Our players can't wait to come here to play in this fantastic stadium," he said. "People talk about the dimensions here and that, so we're well prepared for all that kind of stuff. We haven't got on grass too much in pre-season because of the weather, so we look forward to getting on that.
"Pre-season is interesting because, like everyone, it's probably back in December during a few weeks and then Christmas off and you crack on, then loads of games. I would feel that, minutes-wise, a lot of the players have only played 390 minutes, so they're in a good place that way.
"Injury wise we're in a good place as well, so to come through unscathed and through pre-season is probably the main aim and thankfully we've done that."
Reynolds shied away from declaring Bohs title contenders, however he admitted they are targeting an improvement on last season, when they finished fourth thanks to a final-day win at Drogheda United which secured European football.
With Dalymount Park set to be renovated at the end of this campaign, thus being out of use until 2029, there's also a real determination to leave the famous old ground in style.
"I'm not going to sit here and set myself up, we want to improve," added Reynolds.
"We want to improve on last year, and the big one is, this is the last year in Dalymount, a special stadium.
"A lot of the fans who are going there have gone with their dads or people that have passed away, so a lot of the memories will be in when they're going to those Friday night games. And we want to play a part in that and give them something to sing about. When Dalymount is rocking, it's a fantastic place."
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