Bohemians will show the table-toppers the respect they deserve but Callaghan takes confidence from two close games against Sligo last season, including a scoreless draw at Dalymount.

“Sligo have had a great run in the league and they have had a good Setanta Cup so far but we’re looking for a result from Friday’s game.

“The level of consistency Sligo have maintained is very good. They are able to compete for the best players and they have bought well. They took Evan [McMillan] from us, a really good player, and I was surprised that others didn’t get him.”

For Bohemians, Chris Lyons remains out with an ankle injury from the Shamrock Rovers game that may be more serious than first thought. Shane Fitzgerald has returned to training after an ankle injury.

With newly-signed Stephen Paisley now fully fit, Callaghan has to consider what role he may have, given that the defence with Owen Heary in the centre has proven effective.

But the availability of the experienced Paisley and of Dave Mulcahy is a fillip as Bohemians face Shelbourne next Monday. Callaghan may be calling on more of his squad over the next few days.

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Nine of Callaghan’s squad have started in all three league games so far. “We have a hard core that we’re going to be working off, week in, week out,” said Callaghan.

“But the other players that are out of the team at the moment are good players and are competing for places and this is making the lads in the team work to stay ahead in terms of fitness and the technical and tactical side of things.”

That competition for places has intensified with the recovery from illness of Stephen Paisley and Kevin Devaney and the availability of Dave Mulcahy (ankle) for the first time since the league campaign started.

But newly signed striker Chris Lyons, who has impressed for Bohemians, is sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in last Monday’s match.

Callaghan admits to some disappointment that Bohemians couldn’t do better than a scoreless draw against Shamrock Rovers. “But it wouldn’t be the first time that 11 men failed to beat 10 because those 10 always seem to work that bit harder,” he observed.

“We tried to open it out and play more expansively but the pitch didn’t help us. We dominated them even when they had eleven. We’re disappointed not to get the win but we’ll take the point.”

Current conditions work against Bohemians playing as they would wish to. “We can’t pass and move the ball as much as we like to, and with pace and accuracy,” said Callaghan. “We’re pleased with what we’re doing in training on the all-weather pitch but we can’t do it in the same way on grass at present.”

The Bohemian manager expects St Patrick’s Athletic to improve this season on last year’s achievements, and he was surprised that they went down 3-0 to Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght. They may have shown their rivals too much respect, he thinks.

Eight of the last nine league games between Bohemians and Pats have been drawn or decided by a single goal either way and another close encounter may be on the cards for Saturday.

It is with this in mind that sports betters should always seek to win money by going against the majority. If the majority was always right, bookmakers would find it extremely difficult to make money – instead they are posting vast profits, and not all of it from tax havens and internet gaming.

This week, the intention was to tip Shamrock Rovers to win away to Shelbourne at 1.7 (7/10 in old money) with Ladbrokes – a price that certainly looked big at the time. Needless to say, this price was backed as people noted Shelbourne’s poor start to the season and mounting red cards. Shamrock Rovers started strongly in the Setanta Cup, are yet to concede a goal this season, and won’t be too disappointed in the way their ten men hung on for a point against us on Monday.

They are rightly favourites but we have to evaluate what price we would back them at. If you didn’t get the 1.7 with Ladbrokes earlier in the week, it is not advised to take the best price of 4/7 now. Shels have started badly but will not keep losing games indefinitely – their first points will come soon and may even be this Sunday. Back them with a half-goal start at 57/40, to put on a show for the tv cameras on Sunday afternoon. 19/40 +1.5 will cover you in the event that they lose by one. Both bets are with Bet365.

Another team whose stock it is possible to “buy low” this weekend is Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland as they travel to Sweden. While the manner in which we were totally outclassed in Poland last summer was depressing, Trap has an impressive record in crunch qualifiers and it’s tempting to point out to people that despite the sublime Zlatan Ibrahimovic having his best season ever, there is little reason for some of the excessive pessimism around the Ireland camp at the moment. People will always disagree with a manager’s selections, and seeing how Keane and Long link up will be exciting – whatever about Paul Green. Again, get on the underdogs with a half-goal start at 8/5 with Bet365.

As the reams of column inches on the fallout from the Sweden-Ireland game are being digested, our own league action this weekend sees us travel to Inchicore to take on Liam Buckley’s St Pat’s. We don’t have too bad a record in this fixture in recent seasons. We’ve mentioned in previous columns that although Pat’s have strengthened, they look short to challenge for the league again. This Bohs team has proved that it can get results against teams who are challenging for the league, so although Pat’s are a useful side, they will draw a lot of games this season, and at 5/2, this surely could be one of them.

Elsewhere in the league, bankers are thin on the ground and the weather will conspire against many bets. Sligo’s start has been impressive but Limerick’s home form promises to be solid. Dundalk will have their backers at 5/4, but it might just pay not to back road teams in a week during which they have already played a game – in Dundalk’s case, a convincing home defeat to Sligo.

While we don’t have a “banker” this week, Waterford are joint favourites for the First Division, and are 8/13 with Pinnacle to beat Mervue at home this weekend. The same bet is 4/7 with Powers. As Paddy Power are typically the bookmaker who know more about Irish football than any other, we can at least be confident that we may be getting a sliver of value, even if [like any bet] there is no guarantee that the bet will win.

Recommended:
Shelbourne +0.5, 1pt 57/40 (Bet365)
Ireland +0.5, 1pt 8/5 (Bet365)
Bohs – St Pat’s draw, 1pt 5/2 (Skybet)
Waterford, 2pts 8/13 (Pinnacle)

We would also like to thank club member Peter Synnott (pictured below), who sponsored the match-ball for our the same game against Rovers.

Click here for more information on matchday sponsorship packages, or email commercial@bohemians.ie.