Fenlon adds three more to Rovers squad

Shamrock Rovers boss Pat Fenlon has added three more players to his squad with just under a week to go before they kick off their 2015 Premier Division campaign against St. Patrick's Athletic.

Defenders Tim Clancy and Maxime Blanchard, along with forward Gareth McCaffrey have all joined the club as Fenlon seeks to add some depth ahead of the Hoops' return to European competition. Rovers' last game in Europe was the 2-1 aggregate defeat to Lithuanian side FK Ekranus in the second qualifying round of the 2011/12 Champions League.

30 year old Clancy links up with Fenlon for the second time having signed for him at Hibernian from Motherwell in June 2012. Clancy only made 19 appearances in two years on Easter Road, scoring one goal – against Celtic at Parkhead in a 2-2 draw. Persistent injuries curtailed his involvement at Hibs, ultimately resulting in his omission from the matchday squads for both the 2012 and the 2013 Scottish Cup finals which Fenlon's side lost 5-1 to Hearts and 3-0 to Celtic respectively.

With Fenlon resigning in November 2013, Clancy was eventually released in January 2014 whereupon he signed for St. Johnstone on a short-term contract. He made only three appearances as injury again hampered his progress and cost him a place in a third Scottish Cup final squad – with St. Johnstone running out 2-0 winners over Dundee United in his absence.

But the Meath man did manage to net another goal against Celtic – this time in a 3-3 draw at McDiarmid Park. This wasn't enough to earn the former Kilmarnock defender a new deal and he was one of four players released by St. Johnstone at the end of the 2013/14 season.

Blanchard joins Rovers after three seasons at Plymouth Argyle where he made over 100 league appearances for the club. The Frenchman was voted Player of the Year in his first season with the Pilgrims, with his performances at the heart of the Plymouth defence a huge factor in the club staving off relegation from the Football League in 2012.

The former Laval, L’Entrentee SSG, Moulins and Tranmere Rovers player was one of seven players released by Plymouth at the end of last season. Blanchard can also play in midfield, where he played for Rovers against Shelbourne in a 2-1 pre-season win. He has also appeared in the Hoops backline for the pre-season games against SK Brann and L.A. Galaxy.

McCaffrey, like Clancy before him, arrives at Tallaght Stadium having been signed for Hibernian by Fenlon. The striker was spotted by Fenlon whilst playing schoolboy football for Stella Maris and he signed McCaffrey for Hibs in 2013. The 19 year old was released by Hibs in January and joined up with Rovers for their pre-season programme, appearing in games against Waterford United, Athlone Town, SK Brann and Shelbourne.

The signing of another striker in particular will be of some relief to the Hoops faithful, who may have felt their strikeforce was a bit threadbare – Rovers' other out-and-out strikers are new signings Danny North and Mikey Drennan.