- Luke Jordan
- Wed, Feb 15 2023
Manager: Tim Clancy
Stadium: Richmond Park
Players In: Tommy Lonergan (UCD), Vladislav Kreida (Flora Tallinn - loan), Jake Mulraney (Orlando City), Noah Lewis (Willem II), Conor Carty (Bolton Wanderers - loan), Jay McGrath (Coventry – loan).
Players Out: Adam O’Reilly (Preston North End – end of loan), Ian Bermingham (retired), Kyle Robinson (Shelbourne), Tunde Owolabi (Cork City), Ben Curtis (Drogheda United), Paddy Barrett (Shelbourne), Barry Cotter (Shamrock Rovers - end of loan), Ross Fay (Longford Town), Cian Kelly (Malaga Academy), Billy King (Northern Colorado Hailstorm).
extratime.com key player: Chris Forrester
For the Saints to have a strong season, the form of Chris Forrester will be pivotal. Arguably one of the best players in the league, the Saints will be looking to the midfielder once again for more inspired performances to drive the team forward this season.
Since the 2021 season, the Smithfield man has returned to his best form. With 28 goal involvements from midfield, scoring 15 and assisting 13, the 30 year old shows the variety he has to his game whether he’s scoring a 25 yard screamer from outside the box or laying a goal on from one of his deft touches.
While the form of Joe Redmond and Eoin Doyle will be important to the success of the side too, Forrester’s ability of making something out of nothing can be the difference between the Saints having a good season or having great season in 2023.
extratime.com one to watch: Ben McCormack
Despite rumours of his departure in the off season, Ben McCormack has stayed put at Richmond Park for another season. Saints fans have become accustomed to young talent breaking through into the first team such as McCormack, Jamie Lennon, James Abankwah, Darragh Burns, and now Sam Curtis in recent times.
McCormack has made 45 appearances already for the Saints at the young age of 19 and has shown glimpses of his quality the past couple seasons such as creating the winner in Oriel Park last October. If given a consistent run in the side, this could be the breakout season for the young Dubliner.
How they did last season: Fourth
After a successful 2021 season, a second place finish and winning the FAI Cup, the acrimonious departure of Head Coach Stephen O’Donnell less than three days after the cup final as well as numerous key departures saw a rebuild needed for the 2022 campaign.
The club appointed Meath man Tim Clancy to oversee the rebuild with many new faces coming through the door at Richmond Park with Eoin Doyle being the most high profile.
A mixed start to the season would occur, some excellent results such as Shels away first day of the season, Bohs at home and the European matches against NŠ Mura and CSKA Sofia were a particular high but also thrown in were some dismal performances domestically such as Derry in the league and Waterford in the FAI Cup.
These hit and miss performances displayed their inconsistencies. However, signings in the Summer window such as Barry Cotter and Serge Akatayi bolstered the squad for the run in as the Athletic won eight out of their last twelve league games which secured fourth place, finishing the campaign with 61 points. This was enough to qualify for Europe for a second consecutive season thanks to Derry defeating Shelbourne in the FAI Cup Final.
FAI Cup: First Round
After the high of winning the FAI Cup on that memorable night in November 2021, the Saints were brought straight back down to Earth last July. Their defence of the prestigious trophy couldn’t have been any worse after suffering a terrible 2-3 defeat at home to First Division outfit Waterford. Tim Clancy and his men will be hoping to replicate the 2021 cup run this season.
Europe: UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round
The Saints returned to Europe after a three year absence and qualifying only for the second time since 2016 thanks to a second place finish during the 2021 season.
Due to sporting sanctions against Russia and a reorganisation of the competition format, the Inchicore side benefitted as they received a bye in the first round. The Saints faced Slovenian side NŠ Mura in the second qualifying round, who in their previous European campaign defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage of the same competition. A 1-1 draw in Dublin after a cracking equaliser from Chris Forrester left the game poised for the return leg. A nervy second leg, which finished deadlocked after 120 minutes of football, saw the Saints face penalties in Slovenia. The Athletic held their nerve and progressed winning 6-5 on penalties.
Bulgarian giants CSKA Sofia was next up for St Patrick’s Athletic in the third qualifying round. A famous 1-0 win away from home in the first leg set up a cracking tie in Tallaght. A hot tempered affair saw CSKA progress with a 2-0 win.
Despite the disappointment of not reaching the play-off round, St Pat’s earned a nice figure of around €750,000 for making the third qualifying round.
What to expect this season:
The signing of Jake Mulraney has added excitement ahead of the new season while the incomings of Vladislav Kredia and Noah Lewis will be watched with interest by the Shed End but the squad still looks short of quality in comparison to Shamrock Rovers and Derry City.
Despite the losses of Adam O’Reilly, and Barry Cotter, the majority of the squad remains intact which will be a huge boost to Tim Clancy as he did not have to spearhead another rebuild in the off season in the winter. The depth of the squad will be tested come the Summer when the European and FAI Cup campaigns begin again. The fans will be hoping for more memorable nights at home and abroad this season so Clancy’s men will need to be up for the challenge once more.
Qualifying for Europe, and a domestic and European cup run will be considered a good season by the majority of Saints fans.
First Game:
The Supersaints take on the reigning FAI Cup Winners Derry City in a sold out Richmond Park this Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
