Barker, who originally came through the Bohs U19s under Owen Heary before making his first-team debut in 2012 under Aaron Callaghan, said: “I fully understand why Keith had to bring someone in.

“You have to strengthen your options as best you can and at that stage we didn’t know how serious my injury was going to be or how long I’d be out for.

“The timing of the injury was a difficult one to take. We all worked extremely hard in pre-season but it was a very enjoyable pre-season too and I was geared towards playing at the start of the season.

“So to be ruled out without even kicking a ball was extremely disappointing for me. The lads were good throughout in trying to pick me up. It’s a great dressing room. They’re good group for morale.

“Even when you have to train by yourself when recovering from an injury, they don’t like to see you excluded. Throughout my time injured I was made feel part of the main group and the lads helped me hugely along the way.”

But while team-mates and management do their best to make everyone feel part of the collective effort, Barker knew he faced an uphill struggle trying to break into the team and had to patiently bide his time waiting for that chance to come.

Finding an opening in a defence that had contributed greatly to James Talbot’s 11 clean sheets in 14 league games was never going to be an easy task. Barker’s involvement was curtailed to starts in the Leinster Senior Cup and EA Sports Cup victories over Shelbourne and Cabinteely respectively.

Barker said: “They’ve done brilliantly and it’s a team game, so it has been great to see the team doing so well even when you’re not playing.”

But his opportunity came last Friday as a combination of an Achilles injury to Rob Cornwall and Barry not being allowed play against his parent club afforded Barker a place at the heart of defence.

Finally getting his first league start of his second spell at Dalymount Park delighted him – the manner the 1-0 defeat to the Leesiders less so.

Conor McCarthy’s first-half header set managerless City on their way to victory. They soaked up Bohs’ pressure and frustrated the home side in the second half and, with a mixture of disciplined but negative tactics, managed to come away from Dalymount with all three points.

Barker said: “Obviously it was great for me personally to finally get a chance. With the run of form the lads have been on, we were confident going into the game, so to lose in the manner we did was disappointing.

“But there were positives that we can take from our second-half performance and we will bring that into the game against Dundalk.”

It doesn’t get any easier as Bohs welcome Vinny Perth’s side to Dalyer. It’s third v second with Bohs on 30 points and the visitors on 31.

The last time these sides met, the Gypsies gave one of their best performances of the season but, agonisingly, made the trip home down the M1 from Oriel Park empty-handed.

Long made seven changes to his starting line-up for that game. The team surprised many by putting in a display deserving of victory but having failed to make their chances and large spells of dominance pay, they suffered the sucker-punch of losing the game through an injury-time penalty.

Barker insists the Gypsies are not motivated by revenge for that defeat.

He said: “There was huge disappointment with the result from the last time we played Dundalk. To make so many changes and play the way we did shows the depth of quality we have.

“The performance the lads put in deserved to win the game so to lose in the manner we did was a big disappointment for everyone.

“This game isn’t about revenge at all. But there is expectation, yes. We know if we go out and give a performance like we did against them the last tine, we can cause them a lot of problems.”

That optimism is one of many things Barker has seen change at the club since he left for UCD in 2014.

Off the field, Bohs are in a far healthier state than the club he left and, on the field, Long’s hard work and dedication has helped rediscover the club’s identity as well as building a young side who appear to hold no fear.

In third but just four points off leaders Shamrock Rovers and with a game in hand, the manager and team do not deviate from the mantra that nobody can afford to get carried away.

Nobody will be allowed pat themselves on the back either but after being five years away, Barker is well-placed to comment on the changed undercurrent of optimism and enjoyment throughout the club that was at times lacking in his first spell.

He added: “There’s a fantastic atmosphere in every aspect of the club. From training, to games at Dalymount to away trips, it’s been really enjoyable.

“To be honest there is no comparison between where the club is now to where it was when I was last here.

“As a team we know that if we perform to our ability we can give any team in the league a game and beat.

“Before it was a times a be case of ‘let’s go out and see how we do.’ Now we all believe.

“There’s a great buzz around the place. The club is embedded in the community now in a way it wasn’t before, the sell-out crowds at Dalymount are amazing to see and are driving us on all the time.

“The whole club has been turned around massively compared to where it was a few years ago. We won’t get carried away but we all want to build on that and be a part of it.”

TEAM NEWS

Rob Cornwall (Achilles) and Keith Ward (foot) are doubts. Loanee Aaron Barry, unavailable for selection against parent club Cork City last week, comes back into the fold. Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) remains out.

Along the way rookie keeper James Talbot has kept eight clean sheets and the four goals Bohs have been conceded have been from two penalties, a free-kick and a corner.

Long said: “We’re in good form. Both teams have done very well so far this season. There is expectation at both clubs, but we are still underdogs.

“Rovers are rightly being tipped for the league title. That is to be expected given their level of investment in their squad and the quality of player they’ve brought in.

“We’ve had a good start to the season ourselves though, built on a mean defence.

“Hopefully we can start the game quickly and put in a positive performance. We’re looking forward to it.”

A good start is important. Bohs eventually racked up an impressive 3-0 win against UCD at Dalymount on Friday.

But they were a bit slow out of the traps in the first half and Long has warned his men they can’t afford a similar start against a side of Rovers’ quality.

He said: “Tomorrow will be tough. We acquitted ourselves very well in Dundalk last week, deserved a result, but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

“We followed that up with a good win against UCD but we were sluggish in the first half – we were much better in the second half – but we will need to start brightly against Rovers.”

Competition for places is the toughest it’s been at Bohs for many years.

Ahead of Friday’s game against UCD, Keith Ward admitted no matter who was picked, there was going to be someone watching on from the sidelines feeling aggrieved.

Long agrees, adding: “It’s a good problem to have. We have players pushing hard in games and in training.

“Given how well they’ve done, there are going to be lads disappointed when they’re not starting but that’s the nature of football.”

Thanks to the addition expansion of Tallaght Stadium with the addition of the South Stand, Bohs will bring their biggest ever travelling support to Dublin 24 since the venue first opened ten years ago.

The last of the club’s allocation of 1100 were sold after Friday night’s game against UCD with many supporters left disappointed.

That win against the Students was the fifth home league game of the season for Bohs – and the fifth time the Jodi Stand has sold out as Long’s team continue to attract new support.

The average attendance at Dalymount this season has been 3,211 – up 44 per cent on last year’s average.

Long said: “Our crowds have been fantastic and right behind us all year and we’ll need that in Tallaght again.

“There is great appetite for this fixture from both sets of supporters. You don’t want to let your supporters down.

“Tallaght will be like a cauldron and even more so now with the new South Stand and hopefully we can do our bit to make sure the game can live up to its billing.”

TEAM NEWS

Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) is Bohs’ only absentee. Skipper Derek Pender and Keith Ward were rested against Dundalk and UCD but both remain available for selection.

Not only did Bohs put it up to the champions on their own patch, they did that and much, much more.

They were the far better team for the vast majority of the game, dictating the pace in a way that belied for many a lack of inexperience and others a lack of game-time.

Driven on by an encouraging away support, the Gypsies’ attempts to find the back of the net proved elusive, however.

And, in the third minute of injury-time, their efforts and enthusiasm came to a shuttering halt when Paddy Kirk was contentiously adjudged to have taken down his former Bohs team-mate Daniel Kelly inside the box.

Referee Tomás Connolly awarded a penalty and Patrick Hoban blasted past James Talbot to send the Gypsies home empty-handed. They dropped to third in the table behind Derry City in the process.

While the manner of the defeat was cruel, now that the dust has settled, Bohs, while not satisfied with moral victories, can still afford to take a lot of positives from their performance.

Ward said: “I was in the stands and I think anyone watching the game will think we deserved to win. We were gutted with the way we lost but everyone who played can hold their heads up high about the way they performed.

“We showed how good a squad we have. Man to man, we were excellent. The young lads that came in – the like of Paddy Kirk and Andy Lyons – and Ryan Swan starting his first game in 18 months, for them to play like that against the champions was extremely pleasing.

“There is good strength in depth there. Every year we lose players but Keith obviously has a good eye for them because there is real quality coming through.”

Bohs have been slow starters in recent seasons, but things seemed to have clicked a lot more quickly this term.

Ward said: “It’s a combination of good talent spotting and really hard work training.

“You look at those lads on Monday, some of them have barely played this season but they weren’t tired as the game went on and that’s down to hard work and everyone pushing each other in training all the time.

“But they controlled the game for a lot of it too which is important as you don’t tire yourself out when you’re on the ball whereas they might have if they had to chase it.

“When we train, it’s very competitive. Trevor Croly doesn’t give you an inch! That means we’re all pushing and pushing each other.

“I wouldn’t like to be Keith picking the team tomorrow! I just hope he picks me! No matter who he picks there will be lads in the stand who will feel they should be starting.”

While supporters are still kicking themselves about the way such a positive performance turned sour on Monday, Ward and Co don’t have the luxury of dwelling on it.

They  face a UCD who have improved since Bohs beat them 2-0 in Belfield in the second week of the season and have beaten both Waterford and Cork City in recent weeks.

Ward said: “UCD are 10 games in now and they will know a lot about themselves now and about the division compared to when we last played them.

“They have come on a lot already and will keep improving. They like to play the right way and will be tough opposition. It’s a very competitive division and there are no easy games – everyone knows that.”

The Jodi Stand is on course to sell out for the fifth home league game in a row – supporters are advised to buy online to avoid disappointment – with Ward admitting the players are thriving off the encouragement from the stands.

He added: “It’s great seeing big crowds in Dalymount. I’ve had people on to me looking for tickets for games we as players can’t even get hold of!

“It’s great as a player to come out to see a packed stand hopping like that. In previous seasons you might have had three or four games like that.

“But last year the crowds were up a good bit and the Jodi has been full for four games we’ve played so far this year.

“That pushes players on even more. They’re there to see you, to support you and we take pride in that. You don’t want to let them down.”

TEAM NEWS 

Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) is Bohs’ only absentee.