Sligo Rovers’ men’s senior team return to competitive action this Friday as the 105th edition of the League of Ireland gets underway across the country. Rovers head to title-challenging Derry City and to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, as the Bit O’Red get set to begin a 21st consecutive season of top flight football, a current record only bettered by St Pat’s and Bohs.
Kick-off in Derry will come almost one hundred days since Rovers memorably beat champions Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium in our last competitive game. There’s been plenty of transfer activity with key players such as Jeannot Esua, Carl McHugh, Mai Traore and Archie Meekison eligible for debuts.
Friday’s away end sold out almost immediately after tickets went on general sale last week and supporters will be keen to see defender Shane Blaney appear for the first time in Rovers gear since his return on loan. While star winger Ryan O’Kane gears up for his first game following his permanent transfer to the Showgrounds following a loan spell in 2025.
It’s been a busy pre-season for John Russell’s men, with friendly games against Finn Harps, Galway, Treaty and UCD all forming part of the club’s preparation for the coming season.
The fixture list has thrown up what will be one of the league’s toughest tests as our first game. Tiernan Lynch has again invested heavily in his squad as the Candystripes contnue the hunt for their first league crown since 1997.
Their most notable acquisition is of course Ireland international James McClean, who returns home after fifteen years in the UK. Derry have also recruited talent from within the League of Ireland such as Rob Slevin, Darragh Markey, James Clarke and Patrick McClean who spent a few months in Sligo last term.
The Brandywell has proven a challenging venue for Rovers over the past few seasons, however we have beaten City on a few occasions in the league on home turf. The most recent of these victories came last July courtesy of strikes from the aforementioned James McClean and Wilson Waweru.
In team news, Rovers will go north without goalkeeper Liam Hughes who is expected to miss out with a shoulder injury. But Russell does have a full squad to pick from as of Thursday evening, barring the net minder.
“It’s a new season and it’s one we’re so looking forward to”, Russell tells sligorovers.com.
“We went back to training in early December with the nucleus of our squad already formed. We got a lot of our business done before then and that was something we spoke about last season, that we’d hoped we could do.
“Hopefully having the players together from early on will stand to us.”
The fixture list has thrown up a tough start for Rovers, with three of our first four games taking place away from the Showgrounds.
Regardless, Russell isn’t fumbling for excuses and is instead focusing on a sharp return to competitive play.
“We’re looking for a fast start”, he says.
“We know what and where we needed to work on and we’ve honed in on that in pre-season, especially our start to the year and how important that is.
“We’re aiming to be competitive in the first round of games and we’re not looking any further than that. But we need to stay with the pack early on and assess things after that.
“Yes it’s going to be tough having a few away games at the start, but that’s the way it is. We have to play everyone at home and away twice, doesn’t matter in what order.
On Derry’s strength-in-depth, Russell believes the harder the task the more it will tell him about his side.
“I’m intrigued to see how it goes. It’s possibly the toughest test there is at the moment in the league. They’ve just beaten the double-winners.
“It’s going to be a sold-out, expectant Brandywell. They’re pushing to start well and will be challenging. But it’s going to be a crisp night under floodlights and a big, big atmosphere. What isn’t there to look forward to?”
Kick-off at the Brandywell is 7.45pm.
David Goulden