The Commentary Box: MOGA is going well

Dundalk began their pre-season fixtures last Sunday, with a game against Saint Peter's Athlone at McCarthy Park in the Leinster Senior Cup. The match squad was made up of mostly members of the under-20 team.

Last night, Dundalk took on high-flying Shelbourne at 7.45 pm. The game is being played at the Dundalk Sports Centre in Muirhevnamor. It will be Dundalk's second Leinster Senior Cup game in just over 48 hours.

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The game has been switched from Oriel due to the continued works on the new Oriel Park surface and the new flood lighting system. The game kicks off at 7.45 pm.

Next Friday, Dundalk travel to Belfield to take on UCD. This game is a friendly. And is being played on the astro pitch in the university.

Dundalk will play Athlone Town eight days later, at the  Athlone Town Stadium, in a game which will have a 3pm kick-off.

The Jim Malone Cup is scheduled to be the last game of Dundalk's pre-season schedule. But no date or venue has yet been announced for it. It can not be Oriel Park. It's hoped the game will be played at United Park in Drogheda.

This is expected to kick off on Friday, 30th January with a 7.45 pm. But supporters are being asked to keep an eye out for an official announcement on this game, as nothing has yet been announced on it. It's hoped the game will go ahead.

Dundalk are also lining up a number of behind-closed-doors games. No member of the public will be allowed any access to any of the behind-closed-door games. All Leinster Senior Cup games are open to the public.

The league season is just three and a half weeks away. Dundalk must start life again in the Premier Division with a game against champions Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium. This game will be on Friday, 6th February.

They don't come any harder a start than against Rovers in Tallaght. But the start of the season has just got more difficult with news that Dundalk must now travel to the Brandywell to take on Derry City a week later.

This will be on Friday, 13th February, with a 7.45pm kick off. Dundalk can not play the game at Oriel because of the continued works in the grounds.

Dundalk's game against Derry, which was due to be played at the Brandywell on Friday, 10th April, will now be played at Oriel Park in a straight swap on that date.

Dundalk will play their first home league game of the season at Oriel on Friday, 20th February against Drogheda United. It is a pity that the Derry game can not be played at Oriel.

However, the fact that Dundalk will have had to reverse just one game due to the ongoing works at Oriel is a great boost.

Remember when Dundalk were first changing the pitch from grass to astro, the club had to spend most of the season playing their home games in Monaghan.

Meanwhile, the works do continue apace at Oriel. Sand infill on the new pitch is now complete and was ready for the rubber infill to be installed.

Dundalk will soon have a new FIFA-quality artificial grass pitch. It's another step closer to delivering a new FIFA-quality surface at Oriel.

Work is also continuing on the installation of the new floodlighting system. This will bring Dundalk bang up to date with all other FIFA-approved flood lighting systems in the country.

When one thinks just a few weeks ago, one wondered were Dundalk going to be able to bring Oriel up to the standard needed for Premier Division football this season and how they have managed it. It's fantastic.

The new Dundalk management committee have been working to Make Oriel Great Again. They are on their way. There is still much work to be done, but MOGA is going well.

I always say how important it is for a team to get off to get off to a good start in the league. But Dundalk must now play the top two clubs in the league at the start. And both games will be away from home.

Dundalk will do well to get anything in Tallaght. It will be even more difficult to get anything away in the Brandywell. Thus, the pressure will start to grow on Ciaran Kilduff almost immediately if he has no points after two games.

It's vital for a team's confidence that get points on the board as soon as possible. In game number three, Dundalk play Drogheda at Oriel. Were they to lose that game, then team confidence is bound to be dented.

If a team gets into a losing cycle, it's always difficult to turn that around to wins. But even though Dundalk will have a tough start, they are more than good enough to have a stable start.

Many soccer media pundits believe Dundalk will go straight back down. I do not think so. I think Dundalk will be fine. Results will come. It may be after a difficult start.

John Murphy of Dundalk FM says that Ciaran Kilduff showed great courage last season by using so many youngsters in the team that got the club promoted in just one year.

"Because Dundalk were in a lower Division, Kilduff was able to give so many youngsters a role to play in the first team. Dundalk were by far the best team in the First Division.

"But they did give away some easy goals at the back. But Dundalk sapped morale in the chasing teams as they kept winning games. Dundalk were always leaders from the start.

"Kilduff's signings in the window were so good. JR Wilson and Declan McDaid were just simply exemplary. It's great to see them back with Dundalk next season. Both of these players were a solid unit.

"They gave the team such stability in defence when really it was so badly needed. The new signings the manager brought in blended so well. Ciaran Kilduff did so well last season, the way he came through here.

"He built last year's team from nothing. He got the result that the fans were looking for, and that was to get us back to the Premier Division at the first time of asking.

"You need harmony among the players and between the manager and the players. And we had that. I am happy with the people in charge of the club. They are football people, and they seem to know what they are doing.

"They have done so well. We will have a new pitch and a flood lighting system in place. It looked for a time before Christmas that this was not going to happen.

"But now all of a sudden things have begun to fall into place. The Trust coming on board was the icing on the cake as far as I am concerned.

"The management committee seems to love football. This is a massive bonus for the club. It's really great to see the club being run by football people. Once you have everybody working off the same page. That is half the battle."

Dundalk did have experienced players on contract for next season. Daryl Horgan and Aodh Dervin were always coming back, as was Leo Gaxha. JR Wilson and Declan McDaid staying on was another great boost.

But these players are going to find that there is a huge step up from playing in the First Division to the Premier Division. They are going to have to work out for themselves if they are capable of making the step up.

The players coming up from the First Division are going to have to work very hard at their own game if they want to make it.

"The Dublin clubs are going to be the top teams in the league, and do not forget Derry City. The rest of the clubs, including Dundalk, will be in the bottom five. Some of the bottom five will be in a huge battle to stay up.

"Dundalk will be hoping to consolidate themselves in the league, even if they are in the bottom five. If they can consolidate next season, then that will be as good as winning a trophy."

I am confident from what I have seen in Ciaran Kilduff that he will get the correct players needed to give Dundalk a decent year next season. We all have to back the manager and hope that he has a good season.

The manager is not a panic merchant. You can see this in what he says to the media after the games. He has a calming effect on everybody.

"I have no problem with playing Shamrock Rovers away in the first game. It is a difficult start. But we would have to play them at some stage. To get the champions in the very opening game of the season does give us a chance.

"We might well catch them on the hop. But if we were to lose against Rovers, Derry and Drogheda, then we will be looking up the table.

"It would not do our confidence any good. Remember, Cork City managed to win just one game in the Premier Division last season. They were relegated. A good start is vital for Dundalk."

But to be honest, I do not think it is a good time to get Rovers. They are the cream of Irish football. I do not think there is a gear that you can go either up or down. You have a job to do.

And whether you are playing Rovers in the first game of the season or the last, you will be putting up the same battle. Shamrock Rovers will always be difficult at the start. I think it's a very, very tough start for Dundalk.

"We are going to have to win seven or eight games in this league and hope it's enough to stay up. It's all about getting the seven or eight wins.

"Hopefully, the players Ciaran is keeping and the new players he has signed will be good enough to keep us up. If we can get five points from the opening three games, I would be delighted.

"Hopefully, we can come out on the right end of what will be a difficult start. Derry City are due a trophy this season. Down through the years, they have flattered to deceive. They have always had great players playing for them.

"But every year we say the same and that they will win the league. But they have not done it in 30 years. 1996 was the last time Derry won the league.

"If I was Ciaran Kilduff, I would be saying to the Dundalk players that the Derry City team have big reputations individually. But if we get in their faces, and I think this will be part of Ciaran Kilduff's tactics, we will not let them get into a rhythm.

"If we can put them out of their rhythm and keep a good defensive structure, I think we can get something from that game, and we will be fine at that end.

"You would always say that the provincial teams are those that will be at greatest risk of going down. Waterford, Sligo, and maybe Drogheda will be part of the bottom five, including Dundalk, that will form a league within the league.

"There will be no easy points to pick up anywhere. This is especially so when you see Rovers, Pats, Bohs and Shelbourne. But these clubs are not infallible. They can be beaten.

"Dundalk can beat them if we go about it the right way. The only way that this can happen is for Ciaran Kilduff having the right players to do that.

"It never bothered me if I was playing a game away or at home. If you are a player that listens to the crowd, then it would bother playing away. But for me, playing Rovers away or at home does not matter.

"It's still the same game. It's still the same opposition. I was never afraid of Shamrock Rovers as a player. I always believed that we would win. I was wrong many times, just as I was correct as well.

"I never left a dressing room to play Rovers, believing we could not win. I was a great believer in that. The only way you could tell me that we had been beaten was if it was in the papers the next day.

"I always believed that if we got it right on the pitch on the day, then we could win. If we got it right in eleven sections of a team and if we were good enough to do that, we could give anybody a game.

"Ciaran Kilduff will be looking for work rate, tightness at the back, not to be making silly mistakes and preventing them from scoring goals against us. That will be part of his team talk.

"Having a good goalkeeper is so important. You can not have a goalkeeper who is going to make silly mistakes. They are there to inspire. Dundalk suffered badly in the Premier Division two years ago, as the keepers we had were poor.

"Dundalk will need confidence and belief in themselves. A good keeper will inspire that. The people who were in charge of the team two years ago forgot about Peter Cherrie. Peter proved himself again last, that he is still a force in soccer.

"He was outstanding last season. Two years ago, Dundalk had a serious problem in the goalkeeping department.

"And they had Peter there all the time and chose to ignore him. The people who thought Peter was not good enough are no longer with Dundalk. That says a lot.

"Gbemi Arubi is an excellent striker. He came into his own after recovering from a bad injury at the start of the season. He is a player who I would certainly not like to be marking. Defenders will never have a comfort zone with Gbemi.

"They will never know what he is going to do. Some of his goals last season were simply class. He is a young player who is learning his trade. He will come up against defenders who will know how to handle him.

"He will have to learn quickly in the Premier Division how to overcome that. Gbemi will come up against two centre halves. He will be able to get around that problem.

"I think the signing of Keith Buckley was a smart move. Kilduff needs a veteran in the centre of the park. I am concerned that Keith has been vulnerable to injuries. However, if he can avoid that, then I believe he is a very good signing.

"He has great ability. If he had not, then he would not be playing League of Ireland football as long as he has been. Years ago, a player would be finished at 30.

"These days, you can go on until you are 35 or 36. If Keith can keep his body right, he will always want to prove himself and has great potential. That is my type of player.

It's great to see Declan McDaid being kept. He is the kind of player that can play anywhere. Playing him in midfield suited him very well, particularly in the centre. He has all the pitch to roam. He was played as a defender for most of the time.

And it suited him. But I felt that he was kept in a more confined place. Declan is another experienced player. This is what we are going to need.

We need experience more than anything this year. If we can put that experience together, then we will have a great chance of consolidating ourselves in the Premier Division.

"The new pitch can act as a benefit for us. I am not a great fan of the all-weather pitches. But a new pitch is a new horizon for the players. And if the players can adjust to it, then Oriel can become a fortress.

"The old pitch was responsible for a lot of injuries. There was hardly a week went by, and we were writing changes to the team from previous weeks.

"This was caused by the old pitch. We will not have this next season. Vinnie Leonard is a player to watch out for next season. It's likely that he will move on at some stage.

"Sure, it would be great to see an ex-Dundalk player in a green jersey like Steve Staunton was all of those seasons ago. I am looking forward to the new season. It will be a challenging one. I think Dundalk will be fine."

Have a great week. Be careful out there. Look after each other and yourselves.