Alan Reynolds has encouraged Bohemians fans to stick with his side and give them a lift when they make the short trip to take on Shelbourne at Tolka Park.

Bohs have had an up and down start to their 2024 campaign with three wins, a draw and four defeats from their opening eight games.

Tonight’s opponents, however, have been the surprise package this term and sit six points clear at the top of the table and remain unbeaten with six wins and three draws from their opening nine games.

But it is still very early days – as Bohs found after their own blistering start last season – and Reynolds is backing his side to improve.

He said: “When you work for a big Dublin club like Bohs you realise how important all derby games are to the fans.

“Shelbourne have really good players who are playing very well at the moment. They are top of the league for a reason, so we have to respect them as they have really good players who have shown they can hurt teams.

“But from our point of view, the most important thing is getting ourselves right. We have to deal with their attacking threats but we have to make sure we are an attacking threat ourselves.”

Reynolds says Bohs cannot have a repeat of last week’s game against Waterford where he felt they wasted possession in the opening half before giving away a cheap goal that allowed Keith Long’s side a platform to sit back and see out victory.

Reynolds said: “We didn’t start well, which was very frustrating given how well we started against Galway on Monday. We need to start like that every game but against Waterford we weren’t good enough.

“We gave away a cheap goal and that is something we have to rectify and have been working on because it gave Waterford the platform to change how they play and approach the game because they had a lead to cling on to.

“We’ve learned a lot over the last couple of weeks but we have to be better and work a lot harder than we did. We had our chances though but ultimately it was a frustrating night and we have to do better.”

Despite that frustration, Reynolds believes he has a side capable of improving and encouraged Bohs fans to get behind them and give them time.

He added: “The players need support and we need our fans to stick with us. There is obviously frustration this season, and we obviously all understand that.

“But we have some very good young players here, and a lot of new players too, who I feel can thrive if the fans stick with them as I have no doubt they will in what is a massive game now tonight.”

Team news

Dylan Connolly is a doubt. Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall remain out.

Bohemian FC is delighted to confirm the appointment of Alan Moore as men’s first team coach analyst.

The former Ireland international comes to the club having built up a wealth of experience in England, most recently as opposition analyst with Wigan Athletic and as academy manager at Carlisle United.

Welcoming Moore to Dalymount Park, Alan Reynolds said: “Alan has been in the UK for a long time, and with Waterford with me at the start of the season. His experience is invaluable in terms of mentoring coaches and preparing teams, and I saw first hand the value that he can bring to a set-up.

“As a player he was involved with top clubs and set-ups, and as a coach he has worked with brilliant coaches and managers, building up fantastic knowledge and experience all the way.

“I’ve played with him with Shelbourne, and we have worked together now in a backroom too, so I know that we have a great working relationship that can only benefit the team and help us push forward.

“I knew from the six or seven weeks we had together at Waterford that if I was to become a manager again, that Alan is someone I wanted working alongside me.”

Moore, who enjoyed a fine playing career with Middlesbrough, Burnley and Shelbourne, said: “I’m delighted to be here. I’ve really enjoyed the couple of days here so far. It is a very good environment to come into, with a great set-up in DCU.

“The role of coach analyst involves a lot of opposition analysis, which is something I’ve been doing for the last number of years in the UK, for six years with Wigan, and also with Waterford this season. I’ve seen all sides of football in my 30 years in the UK, so I am hoping to bring with me knowledge that will help Bohemians get to where we need to be.

“The manager liked what I brought to the table at Waterford, so he has brought me on board. We have a good relationship. We are close in our thinking about football, in and out of possession. Our principles and values are the same, so it was an easy decision to come and work with him again at Bohemians.”

Alan Reynolds takes charge of Bohemians at Dalymount Park for the first time tomorrow night and is relishing the occasion of taking on his hometown club.

Reynolds’ first home game in charge sees him pitted against Waterford where he served as assistant manager until his arrival at Bohemians last week having previously had two stints as manager of the club.

And in the away dugout, Keith Long returns to manage a side in Dalymount Park for the first time since his near eight-year tenure as Bohs manager came to an end in August 2022.

Reynolds said: “We both have a job to do and it is important that we do everything we can to push on now and get the win, and I’ve no doubt Keith will be saying the same.

“But it will be a big moment for Keith coming back to Dalymount too, and I hope he gets the good reception he deserves here. He speaks very fondly of the club and has a lot of good memories from his time here.

“For me, I’m managing Bohemians in Dalymount for the first time against my hometown club, which is exciting and something I am relishing personally, even if there might be a few divided loyalties in the family!”

Bohs come into tomorrow’s game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win away to Galway United on Monday night thanks to goals from Jevon Mills and James Akintunde.

It was the perfect response to a disappointing Dublin derby defeat away to Shamrock Rovers on Friday where Bohs impressed in the first half but collapsed in the second, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat.

Reynolds said: “That was the conversation we had with the players and the challenge for them going into Monday’s game was to start strongly but to keep it going.

“Against Shamrock Rovers, we played well for 30/35 minutes but then let it drop, so the aim for us was to sustain a high level of performance for a lot longer and keep going.

“The players were disappointed with themselves on Friday night as they feel they are better than that. We got a good response from them on Monday and now we want to build on that.

“With three games in eight days we haven’t had the time we would like on grass to work on certain things with them and to help them get better, but it was a good response in Galway.

“There is an honest bunch there who want to improve, and who want to give their very best for Bohemians.”

Both goals against Galway came from headers after set-pieces delivered by Dayle Rooney – the first a free-kick met by Mills and the second a corner met by Akintunde.

Reynolds said: “I’d love to take credit for those but I have to give credit to Derek Pender and Trevor Croly. They’ve worked hard on them with the players and they worked hard on them for the week before I came in too.

“They were good deliveries from Dayle and the boys attacked them well. But we defended well too, which is something we really needed to improve on from the game against Rovers.

“Galway are a big, strong and physical side but we stood up to them and defended very well, and again I have to give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for the work they’ve been doing with the players to help us improve at the back.”

Reynolds was delighted to send the travelling crowd at Eamon Deacy Park home happy too after their disappointment in Tallaght three nights beforehand.

He added: “Before the game, Derek Pender spoke to the players and touched on the fans constantly travelling away from home in huge numbers, and the importance of repaying the support that they give the team every week.

“It was my first time taking charge of the team outside of Dublin but from listening to the staff and players, I know that fans of this club sell out their allocation everywhere we travel and create good noise wherever we play, so it is important for us as a team to send them home happy and with something to cheer about.

“We were delighted to be able to do that on Monday and now we want to do it again at home.”

Team news

Martin Miller and Bart Kukulowvicz come back into contention, while Filip Piszczek is rated doubtful.

But Bohs will be without Adam McDonnell and Dylan Connolly as well as long-term absentees Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall.

Tickets for the historic friendly match between Bohemian FC women’s team and the Palestinian Women’s National team are now on general sale from tickets.bohemians.ie.

This match, which takes place on Wednesday May 15th in Dalymount Park, will mark the 76th anniversary of Nakba, and highlight the human rights violations in occupied Palestine.

Speaking today, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said: “I am very proud to welcome our women’s football team that will be playing in Ireland for the first time in its history. I am thrilled to work with Bohemian FC who facilitated this match for the first time in Europe.

“There is no better way to commemorate the Nakba than by having our national team come to one of the few countries in Europe that is constant and consistent in its solidarity with our just cause. Thank you, Ireland, thank you to the Irish people, and thank you Bohemian FC.”

Tickets for the game (adult €40, concession €20) will cover the visit of the Palestinian team and delegation, with the remainder split between charity partners Palestine Sport for Life, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Aclaí Palestine.

Those who are not in a position to attend but who wish to make a donation or purchase a non-attendance ticket for this important fundraiser can do so on our ticketing site, tickets.bohemians.ie.

Matt Devaney, President of Bohemian FC said: “We want this to be a very special few days for the Palestinian team and the delegation visiting Ireland.

“We look forward to welcoming the Palestinian team to Dalymount Park and hope the Irish public get behind this occasion and our efforts to raise a substantial sum to assist and highlight the plight of people in a truly dire situation.”

Bohemians Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lambert said: “While the game in Dalymount Park will be the highlight and send out a strong message of solidarity to the Palestinian people from Ireland, having received great support from Dublin businesses and service providers, we are also working on a schedule for the Palestinian team and visiting delegation that will include cultural visits. We look forward to welcoming them to Dublin and to Dalymount Park in what we hope will be an occasion to remember for all involved.”

Alan Reynolds says he will not judge his Bohemians side after one game in charge but says they need to learn from their mistakes quickly to move up the table this season.

Reynolds’ side impressed in the early exchanges in his first game in charge away to Shamrock Rovers on Friday night and with the game scoreless at half-time, there was reason to be optimistic ahead of the second half.

But Bohs were subjected to a bruising performance by the hosts, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat that could have been more, with Declan McDaid’s goal in injury-time of little consolation.

Reynolds said: “I’m not going to judge the team after that one game. It’s going to take time for me to put in what I want to, and to get the team playing the way I want them to. But it was a very tough start.

“The game-plan early in the first half worked well and we were solid defensively. But we know that we needed to keep the ball a lot better.

“The goals we gave away early in the second half were cheap goals to concede, and we were chasing the game from then on.

“You can’t give a team like Rovers a leg-up like that. We needed to start the second half a lot better than we did.

“There’s a lot to learn from the game. I was pleased with some aspects early on but we didn’t keep the ball, didn’t pass the ball well enough, we were outdone physically at times and rode our luck when it came to defending set-pieces. These are all things we need to work on and get right quickly.”

Bohs face another tough away game this evening against a Galway United side buoyed by a win away to Derry City on Friday night.

Reynolds knows the challenge ahead having been assistant manager at Waterford when they lost 2-1 to the Tribesmen at Eamon Deacy Park last month.

He added: “We are looking forward to the trip but we know it’s another tough game. We had the players in for their recovery session on Saturday after Friday’s game and we had a good training session yesterday, so they know what is expected of them.

“I was only up in Galway a few weeks ago with Waterford. Galway are a very good side and are very effective. The way they’re playing is very smart. People will talk about John Caulfield and Ollie Horgan and playing one style but there’s a lot more to them than that.

“They had a great win on Friday against a good Derry side so we know that it is going to be a hard game. We will make some changes after Friday, and we will need everybody at their very best to get a result.”

Team news

Bart Kukulowicz, Martin Miller and Filip Piszczek are doubts. Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall remain out.

Everyone at Dalymount Park wishes to extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of our former player and general manager John Doran, who has sadly passed away.

Stephen Burke writes:

Though football was a huge part of his life, John Doran was much more than a footballer, and it is an impossible task to adequately do justice to this entirely remarkable human being.

I first met him in and around 1967, went to see him play at Dalymount Park courtesy of the odd guest pass, and so I began to support Bohemians, as did my whole family.

I should mention that he was ‘John’ to us, but ‘Seán’ to his nearest and dearest. He was so good humoured he never seemed to mind which name you used.

He played for Bohs for ten seasons, the first three as an amateur, and then as a professional. John was on the first Bohemian team to include professionals (Tony O’Connell and Dinny Lowry), and would become the the last and longest-serving player from Bohemians’ amateur era, his departure after over ten years service bringing down the curtain on the club’s transition years.

John would sign pro the next season as manager Seán Thomas built a team that would lift the FAI Cup for the first time since 1935. He was also on the first Bohemian team to play in European competition, in the Cup-Winners’ Cup games against Gottwaldov of what was then Czechoslovakia. He brought back a beautiful glass vase John as a present for my mother.

In 1971 John and his sisters Carol and Dolores had formed a women’s team in Finglas, the Suffragettes, and for almost three years I was secretary and assistant manager. With John as manager, the team was set up on near-professional lines as he applied everything he’d learnt about the game to help the girls progress rapidly. He was making his way as a computer engineer at the time, playing semi-professionally for Bohs, and breaking ground in women’s football with the Suffragettes. Typical John. He was non-stop.

Naturally the Suffragettes were a great success, winning the very first Women’s FAI Cup in 1971 (the final actually being played in January 1972). They reached the 1972 WFAI Cup final too, but this time were runners-up to All Stars of Ballyfermot in the decider at Richmond Park.

In November 1972 John won his Ireland Under-23 cap alongside clubmate Mick Martin in a 0-0 draw with France at Lorient.

John’s career with Bohs continued to blossom. The club won its first League title since 1936 in 1975 with an incredible defensive record. John would have been an ever-present except for the last game of that season, with the title already wrapped up, manager Billy Young tried out a young unknown in his right-full position, a lad called Kevin Moran.

The 1975/76 would be John’s tenth and final one with Bohs, and though he only started eleven games, he played a notable part in a tricky FAI Cup quarter-final at Turner’s Cross against a Cork Celtic side that boasted World Cup-winner Geoff Hurst. Gerry Ryan limped off after 25 minutes, and John ran on to join Turlough O’Connor and Niall Shelley up front. With 20 minutes remaining, John proved his worth by firing home the game’s only goal – Bohs would go on to lift the blue riband.

In all he 322 appearances for Bohs, scoring 19 goals in his ten seasons (1966/67 to 1975/76).

One quirky matter not included in his goal stats is the rare, possibly unique feat of scoring a hat-trick in a penalty shoot-out, one that decided the Pioneer Cup game away to Cliftonville in May 1968.

John continued his League of Ireland career with Shamrock Rovers and then Thurles Town. At Thurles he was a player for a year, and then player-manager for the next four. It almost goes without saying that Thurles could often be difficult opponents with John at the helm, and they took vital points off Bohs more than once!

He moved on to manage St James’s Gate for four years, and was with Clontarf for 13 seasons as a player and manager of various sides, including the over-35s. John’s work took him to Montevideo in Uruguay for four or five years where he was a member of Carrasco FC, playing football with their Masters (over-45) team.

In 2010 he came back to Bohemians as General Manager for a year and a bit during a very difficult period. Just like John to take on a near-impossible task.

That John’s sons, John junior and Gareth, would become classy tennis players was no doubt due at least in part to their father’s interest in the game that had paralleled his football career, and I believe at least one of his young grandchildren is also showing similar talent at Wimbledon no less.

John was a great talker and joker, his chirpy manner ever-present in everything he did, quite often squeezing in a bit of Gaeilge along the way. He brought you along with him, coached you, boosted you. He made me a better person, and I know he did the same for many others.

If there was a problem it was always a case of, “give me the details” and, soon enough, “I see, ok, here’s what we do”. The positivity just flowed out of him. There weren’t really problems but opportunities to do something better. He could and would argue with you over something or other, but you’d never fall out, there’d be that twinkle in his eye as he picked just the right remark and moment to leave you laughing.

He could be impossible (!), such as never letting you buy him tea or coffee or anything, he’d always insist on paying. And he always wanted to give back to Bohs, for instance paying for a season ticket he’d rarely use as his regular football game in Clontarf was on a Friday night.

After he retired he continued to run and walk every day, played tennis, football, and golf.

I don’t know when or where to start or stop when it comes to John, and I never will, I owe him so much.
A role model, a mentor, an inspiration, but more importantly the warmest, truest friend you could wish for.

John Doran: there really are no words.

Funeral notice of John Doran

Doran, John (Clontarf, Dublin) 28th March 2024, (peacefully) surrounded by his loving family, under the kindness and compassion of the staff at the Mater Hospital. Beloved husband of Geraldine, loving father of Kathrina, John and Gareth, and adoring grandfather of JohnPatrick, Pierce, Jack, Margaret, Frederick and Alexandra. John will be very sadly missed by his loving and devoted wife, children, daughter-in-law Erica, grandchildren, brothers Tony and Christopher, sisters Pat, Dolores, Carol and Catherine, brothers-in-law, sisters in law, nieces, nephews and extended family and wide circle of friends.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to the Mater Hospital.

Reposing at his family home on Monday 1st from 3pm-5pm. Family home private all other times. Removal on Tuesday morning to St. John the Baptist Church, Clontarf arriving for 10am Funeral Mass followed by a cremation in Glasnevin Crematorium.

For those who cannot attend but wish to view John’s Funeral Mass you can do so using this link.

John’s Cremation Service can also be viewed at 1pm using this link.

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but cannot, please leave your condolences using this link.

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.

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointment of Alan Reynolds as manager of the men’s first team.

The Waterford man, 49, will take training for the first time tomorrow morning, will hold his first press conference as manager tomorrow afternoon, and will take charge of the team for the first time at Friday’s SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division game away to Shamrock Rovers.

Reynolds comes to Dalymount Park with a wealth of coaching and managerial experience in the League of Ireland, most recently as assistant manager at Waterford from whom he joins, and at international level where he has also been assistant manager to Jim Crawford with the Ireland U21s for the past four years.

Reynolds said: “This is a massive club with a passionate fan base. It’s a massive challenge but it is the right one for me and at the right time, and I can’t wait to get cracking.

“Straight away when contact was made, I was very interested. Over the past few years, I’ve had different opportunities to get back into management but this is the one that feels right.

“There is huge potential here. When Bohs teams give the fans something to cheer about, this club’s supporters are electric, and make it a real hostile atmosphere for opponents both home and away.

“I went to the Aviva Stadium when Bohs were on the European run in 2021. There were 8,000 Bohs fans at the game because if Covid, but it felt like there was 30,000. That has always stuck with me. The fans were unbelievable, and the team responded. That’s what we want to achieve here again.

“Over the years I have been involved in the league, it has been the same in Dalymount. When you are out on the pitch preparing for a game, you can feel the energy of the place and that is something that any player should thrive off.”

Reynolds will take training tomorrow for the first time, and is looking forward to helping the squad fulfil its potential.

He said: “There is a good mixture of youth and experience in the squad, and I am really looking forward to getting the very best out of everyone. There are obviously injuries to a couple of key players at the moment in Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall but there is a lot to be excited about in this squad, and I feel that I can help make them better.

“To work with some of the talented young players at the club – the likes of James McManus and James Clarke – is a really exciting prospect for any manager. They are exciting players – they excite fans and they excite managers – so it is up to me to get in there and improve them further.

“I have worked with a number of the players at the club previously too – Jordan Flores at Dundalk, Dayle Rooney at Shelbourne, James Akintunde at Derry City and Danny Grant with the Ireland U21s.

“So I’m looking forward to getting cracking – assessing the squad, assessing the staff, and seeing where we can improve. Derek Pender and Trevor Croly leading the team for the last game against Derry City got an important win against a good side, so we know there are players here who are capable. They were really well organised, and we want to build on that.

“It is very early days, but I am looking forward to getting in and working with the team now. And they will work, that is for sure. We cannot leave any stone unturned to get this club to where we want it to be, so that means upping the ante in everything we do. Our players will be fully committed. It will be 24/7, it will be full-on.”

And it doesn’t get any more full-on for a first game in charge than a Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers, but it is a challenge Reynolds is relishing.

He added: “When you talk about football, Dublin derbies are what you call a ‘real game’. In this league, they are the games you want to be involved in, so I am really looking forward to it. There will be a massive crowd but we will have a big crowd behind us too. We will need them to stick with us as I have no doubt they will.”

Welcoming Reynolds to Dalymount Park, Bohemian FC Director of Football Pat Fenlon said: “We are delighted to bring Alan to the club. He is highly respected throughout the league for his ability as a coach and manager.

“Throughout his career as a manager and as a coach, Alan has shown a consistent ability to get the very best out of players and to help teams fulfil their potential, so we are delighted to have him on board. It’s the right time for Alan and it is the right time for the club.

“I have worked with Alan in the past. He played under me when I was manager at Shelbourne, and we worked very well together as manager and Director of Football at Waterford as well, so I know the qualities and drives he brings to teams, and we are really looking forward to him getting started here.”

Bohemian FC president Matt Devaney said: “On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Alan to the club.

“The club has invested heavily in recent years to allow us to continue to compete in what has become an extremely competitive league, securing first-class training facilities in DCU in 2021, building our off-field structures and moving the men’s first team to full-time football last season.

“We believe that with the considerable experience and drive that Alan will bring to the role, that he is the right person to help us push forward and build on those strong foundations.”

Bohemians got our SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division campaign off to the perfect start last week and manager Ken Kiernan has backed his side to build on that when Athlone Town provide the opposition at Dalymount Park this afternoon.

Bohs kicked off the 2024 season with a 2-0 win away to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park thanks to goals from Fiona Donnelly and Aoibhe Brennan, and Kiernan was delighted with how his new-look side performed.

Kiernan said: “Wexford are a settled squad with the likes of Ellen Molloy back and with it looks available all you back and they’ve signed some really good players. So it was always going to be a tricky fixture away from home, so we were delighted with the performance and result.

“Every game we played was away in pre-season so they were used to travelling, they were used to being on the road.

“For the first half week, they played really, really well. We moved the ball well and we kept good possession. Even when we lost possession, we were in really good positions to win the ball back, and defensively we were solid.

“There were 12 new players into our senior team this year, and eight kept on from last season. I have to credit all our players and staff, and their commitment levels so far because every player has played a really big part, and in the performance last week.

“Fiona Donnelly stepped up for the first goal and it was a really positive kind of goal to score because it came off the back of something we’d been working on in training on Thursday night, which was really pleasing.

“But Wexford threw everything at us in the second half, as we knew they would. Then Tiegan Ruddy puts a lovely ball in for Savannah Kane, who at 16 years of age, takes the ball down from the air and was really calm under pressure from an experienced defender, plays it out to another 16-year-old in Aoibhe Brennan, who under pressure from the centre-back, spins her, and finds the top corner.

“So it was really pleasing. Every player showed great character, and they managed the game really well.”

This afternoon will be Kiernan’s first time taking charge in the Dalymount dugout, and for so many of his players, their first time playing on the Dalymount pitch in front of Bohemians fans.

Kiernan said: “We’re looking forward to having a really good home crowd. The players have been in and around the community working with the Bohs in the Community programmes – the likes of Lisa Murphy, Katie Malone, Abbie O’Hara and Lisa Phipps – they’ve been around the schools and the locality, and there is a really positive atmosphere around the team and the club.

“The players all in Dalymount recently filming the ad for Dublin Bus. We were there for the guts of a full day, and we spent so long walking the pitch and in the dressing room that you could just feel how excited the group was and how much they were all looking forward to just getting out on the Dalymount pitch and playing a league game in front of our own fans.”

Kiernan was the assistant manager to Ciarán Kilduff at Athlone Town as they lifted the FAI Cup last season, and cannot wait to take on his former club.

He added: “There are a lot of parallels between Athlone Town and Bohemians. There’s a really good squad now at Bohemians after being put together and teams like this tend to grow through the season. All I am seeing in training sessions are players who want to learn, and who want to improve together. They want to back each other up together too.

“I believe from what we have seen in pre-season that we can compete with any team on any Saturday so then it becomes about trying to build consistency, a bit of luck and players staying fit.

“I’d be very positive about where we are. There are three competitions that we are competing in – the league, the FAI Cup and the All-Ireland Cup – so what we’ve seen so far playing the teams that we’ve played and pre-season, I expect us to be competitive right the way through the season.”

Derek Pender says it has been a difficult week for Bohemians players but has backed them to dust themselves down and push on this season.

First-team coach Pender will take the reins against Derry City at Dalymount Park, assisted by Bohs U19 manager Trevor Croly, following the departure of manager Declan Devine and assistant manager Gary Cronin on Sunday.

As Director of Football, Pat Fenlon is overseeing a period of transition at the club, but it will be Pender taking charge of first-team affairs until a permanent manager is appointed.

Pender said: “I know my role, and I know what I have to do to get the players lifted this week and get them looking forward to the next game after what was a very tough week for everybody involved, particularly everybody who has been involved for the last 18 months with Declan.

“It’s never nice to see anybody lose their job but especially for somebody who is such a good person, and who was such a popular person around the club, and with the players and staff. He brought a lot of new players in too, so it was a bit of a shock to them as well.

“So, naturally, it was tough for everyone in training on Monday and Tuesday but, as players and as professionals, you’re gonna have to look forward. That’s really part of our game. You’re always on borrowed time if things aren’t going your way.

“It’s really unfortunate and we’re all hurt and gutted for Declan. We all know that football is never guaranteed for any of us. As a player, you could go out and get injured on a Friday night and your season’s over or you lose a game and you could lose your job as a coach, manager or assistant manager.

“That is the reality of football so no matter what, all you can do is look forward to your next game and give it everything you can and enjoy it, because you never know if you are going to have that the following week.

“We know that our job is to dust ourselves down and look forward because we know that we are only four games in, and we have to try and get a result because the club demands results and demands performances from everybody.

“Having Trevor in with the group has been great for the group in a difficult week and we are lucky to have him because Trevor is one of the best coaches in the country.”

Last Friday’s Dublin derby against Shelbourne was a scrappy affair with both sides cancelling each other out before Bohs eventually succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against the league leaders.

Pender said: “We were reasonably comfortable in the game but it was a really poor game for the spectators because nothing was really happening in it. Then the one mistake we make, the one time that we’re out of position, they punish us.

“But the reaction after they scored the peno was probably the most disappointing thing for me. I think we lacked belief to try and get back in the game and then obviously a set play kills us off then when they score from a header, which was really unfortunate because we were well in the game for long periods.”

It doesn’t get a whole lot easier for Bohs this weekend with second-placed Derry City providing the opposition.

Pender added: “Every week in this league this year is really really tough. Every team is strong and I think, over the course of the season, you’ll see mad results. Everybody can beat anybody, and that’s what we have to want to do against Derry.

“The players have had a tough week but I believe we have a really good group, we are at a massive club and we’re in Dalymount with our home fans behind us.

“Hopefully our fans can give the players a little bit of lift and as coaches, we just have to try and give the players that belief we can win going into the game.

“I certainly believe we are well capable of doing that with the group that we have here. We will make one of two changes, and we know that we need everyone playing to their maximum to get a positive result.”

Team news

Keith Buckley (knee) and Rob Cornwall (knee) remain out, Martin Miller (knee) is a doubt, while James McManus (foot) continued his recovery last week, lining out for the Bohs U20s.