“We want to thank the fans as well, particularly those who have travelled away with us,” he said. “We’ll be happy to sit down with them after the game and celebrate a long, tough season but also an enjoyable one.”

For Friday Dave Mulcahy and Stephen Best are automatically suspended as a result of red cards against Cork. Anto Murphy is also suspended for accumulated yellow cards, having very recently come back from injury.

Derek Pender and Dan Byrne are out injured for the longer-term. But Aidan Price and Paddy Kavanagh return from suspension and Roberto Lopes is available this week.

Heary had to shuffle his defence last week and will have to do so again. “Last week we had Steven Beattie at right-back and Mullers [Dave Mulcahy] at centre-half and we can mix it around again. It’s important that we have players who can play in a couple of positions,” he said.

Heary aimed this season to produce a side that can compete with the best and his team continued to do that last weekend in Cork, going down to the title contenders by a single goal from a long-range free.

“We were unfortunate to go down to a bit of a fluke of a goal, but we kept battling away and gave them a game. It’s important that we keep that mentality in the club,” said Heary.

Bohemians have been a bogey side for Cork this season. The teams drew in the league and in the cup at Turner’s Cross and Bohs won both of their encounters at Dalymount Park. Only Dundalk have a better record against Cork City this season.

Heary has a weakened squad for Friday, missing Aidan Price and Paddy Kavanagh through suspension, and Derek Pender (calf) and Dan Byrne (cruciate) through injury. Roberto Lopes has exams on Friday evening, meaning four potential defenders are missing.

“We’re down a few bodies but we’ll put out a team that can compete on the night,” said Heary. “Last week, with Pender and Mulcahy out, we took the game to Sligo and could have won.

“We gave it everything and it showed you how well we can compete against the teams with a full-time set-up.

“We like to have a go at teams and we have younger players who should have no fear playing Cork in front of a packed house. They should enjoy the occasion.”

As Paddy Kavanagh is ruled out, Kevin Devaney returns from a toe injury to resume his raiding runs down the wing. Dave Mulcahy comes back from suspension and will be in the reckoning for a role in midfield or defence.

Steven Beattie, last week’s man of the match as winger, might revert to the back line where he has provided cover on right and left when circumstances demanded it. Playing Keith Buckley at right-back, as he did against Cork City in the cup, is another option.

But this could also be the opportunity for under-19 defender Stephen Best to step up. Signed earlier this year from Crumlin United, he returned recently from ankle injury and played 90 minutes in last week’s 2-1 victory over Longford Town in the under-19 league.

“I’d have no problems throwing him in and seeing how he copes. He would have had more games except for his injury. It will be a tough game for him to be called in, in front of 5,000 people, but he’ll be competing for selection in Friday,” said Heary.

“Any player should want to finish as well as possible. There are players too who are playing for a place in the squad next season.”

This game comes just over a month after a rescheduled league game at the Showgrounds was decided by the odd goal in five.

Sligo won 3-2 but also ended ahead on yellow cards, 4-1, all of them given out in the tense last 20 minutes of the encounter.

“They’re a good side, but we don’t want them to let them get away from us,” said Heary.

Bohemians have had two fewer defeats in the league than Sligo Rovers and are unbeaten at home since Dundalk’s 2-0 victory at Dalymount at the end of May.

“We have done quite well at home despite the problems early on. We have lost only four games at home,” said Heary.

“The one thing we had to do, was to make sure we were hard to beat, and we weren’t that last week against Pat’s.”

The manager gave his players some time off since losing 3-1 to St Patrick’s Athletic 11 days ago. He also introduced a few novelties into training to help refresh a team that was showing signs of fatigue.

“You can allow for a few players who were tired, but there were some performances that were not up to the standard we have been asking for. We did not impose ourselves on the game,” said Heary of the Richmond Park game.

Captain on the night Derek Pender came off with a calf injury late in that game and he may miss the rest of the season.

“He’s been excellent all season. He’s had to fill in at left-back and he’s done it without moaning,” said Heary.

“He’s gone back to the right side and he’s scored two great goals. He’s been a leader on and off the park.

“He keeps telling me he’ll make it back for the last game. He’s that committed.”

Kevin Devaney (toe injury) is out for Friday but has returned to training and is expected to be available for next week’s match away to Cork City. Dan Byrne (cruciate) is sidelined for the longer-term.

Dave Mulcahy, who did not make it to the St Pat’s game in time due to a major traffic disruption on the M50, is suspended for Friday. But Anto Murphy, who returned from injury to come off the bench against St Pat’s and scored a late consolation goal, has had more time to regain fitness.

Jason Byrne has also recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of the squad against St Patrick’s Athletic.

Steven Beattie is likely to feature again in the back line. But Heary may also take the opportunity to look more closely at some of the players who are in the frame for next season’s squad, among them defender Stephen Best.

“Beating Limerick (2-0, Friday) puts us four points clear of them in seventh. If we were to beat Pat’s, that would leave us level on points with Sligo Rovers who are in fifth and come to Dalymount next week.”

St Pat’s are familiar opposition for Bohs this season. As well as the two previous league encounters, the sides also faced off in both the EA Sports Cup and Ford FAI Cup.

Bohs’ only victory in those four meetings came in the EA Sports Cup (3-2) in May but Heary’s men can feel unlucky not to have won the drawn league game at Dalymount in July (1-1) and not to have forced a replay in the Ford FAI Cup quarter-final at Richmond Park earlier this month (2-3).

“Bar the first league game at Richmond in April (1-3), we’ve always given them a game,” he said. “We threw everything at them in the Cup game. We were very disappointed to come out with nothing having been in touching distance of bringing them to a replay.”

The date for this game was brought forward to Tuesday due to St Pat’s Ford FAI Cup semi-final against Finn Harps this Sunday in a competition they have not won since 1961.

Even though the defending league champions are all but out of the title race and have a massive Cup tie looming, Heary is not expecting the game to be any easier.

“We can’t be worrying about what Pat’s are thinking. We have to do our own job,” he said.

Younger members of the Bohs squad have come in for much praise this season, but it was the experienced trio of Jason Byrne (36), Dave Mulcahy (36) and Anto Murphy (32) that provided the talking points after the win against Limerick.

Byrne and Mulcahy grabbed the goals, while Murphy returned after seven weeks out with an ankle injury.

Heary added: “It was great to have Anto back. In the last few minutes, we were able to throw him on to get some game-time to get his sharpness and awareness back up.

“He had a tough tackle put in on him too, so that was a good test. He’s back sooner than we expected but you could see he was exhausted after five minutes.

“Jayo came up trumps with a lovely little dink and Muller, who was unlucky not to score against Rovers too, had a good finish to allow us to see out the game easily enough in the end.”

Paddy Kavanagh (personal commitments) returns to the squad, but Jason Byrne (knee) and Eoin Wearen (foot) are minor doubts. Kevin Devaney (toe) and Dano Byrne (cruciate) remain sidelined.

Pic by Eddie Lennon: eddielennonsportingimages.com

As seen in recent games, his squad has bought into that approach fully. They faced Shamrock Rovers with a depleted squad: Steven Beattie and Roberto Lopes played 90 minutes despite being weakened by flu and finished “flat-out”.

“We work hard for each other. We close down the team facing us. We work as a unit. People can see the transformation since the start of the season,” said Heary.

“I thought we deserved the three points on Tuesday, but before the match, knowing we were down a lot of bodies, we would have taken the one point.”

Paddy Kavanagh and Keith Buckley covered very effectively for injured Kevin Devaney (toe) and suspended Eoin Wearen respectively.

“It was a very disciplined performance by the team. They were aggressive, they were on the front foot from the word ‘go’,” said Heary.

Strong tackles early in the game set the tone for Bohemians’ performance. “That’s what the game is missing at times. You should be allowed make aggressive tackles. There was nothing malicious there. I think referees are seeing that strong tackles can be good tackles, and they’re letting them go.”

Bohemians have overtaken Limerick in the league table but Heary expects another stiff test for his players, who also face a trip to Inchicore next Tuesday.

Limerick manager Martin Russell watched Bohemians in their last two league games and will have his team well prepared.

“We have beaten Limerick twice this year, in the cup and in the league. But they are like ourselves, they work hard and they have some strong, physical players. It will be another battle,” said Heary.

For Friday, Eoin Wearen and Jake Hyland return from suspension and Craig Walsh has served his ban but he is likely to be out with a quad injury. Kevin Devaney (toe) and Dan Byrne (cruciate) remain out.

Anto Murphy, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, was on the bench on Tuesday and was trying to come on in added time for one of his trade-mark long throws. He is likely to a sub again on Friday as he continues to regain fitness