Alan Reynolds takes his place in a Bohemians dugout for the first time tonight and it does not come much bigger as he aims for victory in a Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght.

Over 10,000 will be in attendance for what will be the biggest league attendance in 33 years, but it is a prospect that Reynolds is relishing.

He said: “There is a big task and challenge ahead but we are excited about that. It’s a massive game for anyone involved, and we are all really looking forward to it.

“There’ll be over 10,000 at the game, so it should be a great night for Irish football but we want to give our supporters something to shout about.

“It’s an exciting one and the players are all itching for it. But we can’t settle for second best, that’s no good to us. There’s a lot of work to do, but that has to be the aim going into every game.

“The fans here are passionate, 100% passionate. There is a great energy about them and if we put together that energy with performances from our players, we should be hard to stop. Ultimately we need to win games, and that is up to me to deliver that.”

It’s been a busy few days for Reynolds. Confirmation of his appointment was made on Tuesday and he took training for the first time on Wednesday. So far, he likes what he has seen.

He said: “In training, they don’t look like a team that is lacking in confidence. They are hungry, and there are energetic young players.

“They want to learn and they want to improve. That’s my job, I have to improve them. I like being on the pitch, helping players and making them better. But as I said to the players, I just want winners in this dressing room.

“People are saying to me, ‘it’s a nice dressing room’. I don’t want a nice dressing room, I want a ruthless dressing room that wants to win things, and that’s where we’re going.

“I’m going to put demands on them. It’s 24/7. We’re full-on. What will be, will be. It can’t be through lack of work ethic or effort and that’s including myself and the staff.

“Everything has to go up. The way we train, prepare, rest, everything has to go up. And have no regrets when I look back.”

Team news

Bohemians are without Martin Miller (knee), Rob Cornwall, (knee) and Keith Buckley (knee).

Supporter information

Bohemians supporters heading to Tallaght Stadium tonight are advised to use the blue bridge from the Square Shopping Centre to access the away entrance.
Entry for away fans is via the turnstiles of Block 1 on the N81/the Square Shopping Centre side of the ground.