Those doubts came from the outside – Long trusted his instincts and those of his backroom staff. He had no fear giving young players an opportunity he felt their efforts deserved. While many lacked experience, he trusted their ability to adapt.

That trust was vindicated. It was sink or swim, but worth the risk. Yet just how quickly most adapted came as a surprise to most – probably even to Long, although he is unlikely to admit it.

Lyons was one of those young guns who stood up to be counted. He had already been blooded in games in the Leinster Senior and EA Sports cups, making his league debut off the bench against Derry in April.

He followed that up by deputising in place of injured skipper Derek Pender in subsequent games, delivering performances a seasoned pro would have been proud of.

And, a month after turning 18 and just as he embarked on his Leaving Cert year, he continued to belie his inexperience when he was one of those 11 men brought in and tasked with making the most of the opportunity afforded them.

Things looked ominous when the Gypsies conceded after just three minutes, but the maturity of their response made victory all the sweeter as a brace from teenager Ali Reghba – with a goal from Robbie McCourt sandwiched in between – giving Bohs a perhaps unexpected victory.

But the 3-1 win – and the manner of it – didn’t come just arrive from nowhere.

It was several seasons in the making between work at U19 and U17 levels driven towards a collective goal coupled with the budding partnership with St Kevin’s beginning to bear fruits.

Taking time out from his Leaving Cert studies, Lyons said: “The club has shown that if you work hard, you will get your chance. I think we’ve the best youth system in the country.

“Every young player should want to come to Bohs. The management make you believe in yourself and you want to repay the faith shown to you.

“You are made feel part of a family and if you’re good enough, you will be given an opportunity.”

Lyons is well-placed to pass comment. Earmarked by Long as one for the future when he watched him lining out for St Joseph’s Boys, Lyons then came through the ranks at Bohs’ U17s and U19s.

At U19 level, he was captain as Craig Sexton’s side won the league last season to make it two-in-a-row for the club at that level.

They also won the Enda McGuill Cup to make it a double as well as proudly representing Ireland in the Uefa Youth League where they narrowly lost out to FC Midtjylland.

He has since, alongside Reghba, helped the Ireland U19s qualify for the European Championships and will be expecting to be on the plane to Armenia with them in July.

Lyons said: “Keith Long picked me up watching me at U15s or U16s. I’m a big Joey’s man, as was Keith Long.

“I came through with Jimmy Mowlds’ U17s and then with the 19s. You are learning all the time and are being pushed all the time but are made feel part of the family.”

Earlier this season, Long sighted Lyons and fellow full-back and fellow former Bohs U19 captain Paddy Kirk as perfect examples of what the club wants from players coming through at youth level.

He said: “They understand what it is to be a Bohs player. They have an affinity with the club and they know what it means to play for the club. That’s the class of player we want.

“Andy wants to play more games. He’s behind our club captain Derek Pender but is pushing for more regular starts. Paddy is the same. Paddy is absolutely breathing down the neck of Darragh.”

Lyons’ confidence is evident but he is also too humble to talk himself up too much.

He does, however, echo the sentiment of knowing what it means to play for the club and that sense of belonging, despite having to bide his time when it comes to first-team opportunities.

He said: “It’s become a second home for me. It’s my second family.”

Such affinity might not have come so easily in previous times.

But one of the net results of the restructuring of youth football and the extension of League of Ireland football to U19, U17, U15 and, most recently – and less popularly – to U13 level, is the chance of players developing a long-standing relationship with a League of Ireland club in a way that would not have happened before.

While his own past and loyalties mean he will always be a Joey’s man, Lyons came to the club at a young age and has already seen the potential of Bohs’ partnership with Kevin’s and believes it can only get better.

He said: “I’ve been at the club a few years now so know what it means. That relationship from schoolboy right to first team could be huge.”

That relationship was already there. It was just a matter of joining up the dots.

In the first team, you have Darragh Leahy, Danny Mandroiu, Robbie McCourt and Luke Wade-Slater, who were all at St Kevin’s before being reunited at Bohs having returned home from spells in England.

At coaching level too, the intertwined crossover in affinities are too plentiful to mention.

Lyons said: “The structures are such that you could have players at the club together for four or five years together before they even get to the first team.

“That could be huge and will make it feel even more like a family.”

Making the step-up from underage level to senior is another story though. Not all will make it, but they will be afforded the opportunity to do so.

Helping them along the way are senior pros, the likes of captain Derek Pender and vice-captain Keith Buckley.

Having come on for his captain seven minutes into last week’s 2-0 defeat to Dundalk, Lyons will be aiming to retain his place. But getting selected ahead of a man he looks up to and respects will never be easy.

“Detser” is regularly held up as an example by younger players as someone who inspires them and helps them along the way.

James Talbot’s interviews this week being a case in point. Winning the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers’ Association Player of the Month Award, the 22-year-old said: “You look at Derek Pender. I saw a video of Detser before the Shamrock Rovers game in the huddle, and you could see what it means to him.

“They’re the sort of people you want to be playing with. I’d go to war with Detser. If he dropped there, I’d jump on him, I’d do anything for him.”

But part of Detser’s leadership qualities is his amusing ability of bringing young players with notions back down to earth.
Lyons’ standing as a pupil at Blackrock College and a rugby fan makes him a natural target for slagging in a football dressing room, especially from a no-nonsense captain born and reared in inner-city Dublin.

That was the case once again this week when Blackrock College tweeted a photo of Lyons being presented with a sports day award by Ireland and Leinster star Garry Ringrose, a notable alumni of the prestigious school.

Lyons laughs: “I get a bit of stick! I got an award… but I wasn’t telling anyone at Bohs about it!

“But it went up on twitter. I came to training Detser was just looking at me, staring at me. I knew I was about to get a slagging. I walked in and he was like “who was that lad in the photo? He didn’t know who the No 13 for Ireland was!

“I’m always getting slagged for liking rugby. It’s all good fun. Detser was giving me a lift but he threatened to make me get the bus!”

Like his captain, Lyons enjoys a laugh but also like a captain, he is ultimately a serious and driven personality.

He would have to be when juggling being a senior footballer with studying for his Leaving Cert.

That kicks off in two and a half weeks’ time. Lyons is studying eight subjects – English, Irish, maths, biology, Spanish, geography, home economics and business studies.

He admits combing both his sporting ambitions with his educational ones is a challenge.

But it’s one he relishes, adding: “It’s hard enough. You’ve got three nights’ training, a match and then a recovery session at the weekend.

“But I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It breaks up the day and I manage it okay.”

And what to next when the results come in?

He added: “I want to go to college, maybe DCU. I’m looking at courses in business and sport management, that line of things… but we’ll see!”

TEAM NEWS

This game will come too soon for Rob Cornwall (Achilles), Conor Levingston (foot) and Danny Grant (knee). Keith Ward (foot) is a doubt. Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) remains out.

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.