The Commentary Box: Mark McCadden confident Dundalk can rebuild via the UK Market

The Christmas and New Year holidays are over and it’s back to work and school for all Dundalk fans. As we all enjoyed our holidays, Stephen O’Donnell has been working very hard at targeting the players he wishes to bring to Oriel for the new season.

There is just six weeks left before the new season kicks off. The Dundalk boss has found it very difficult bringing in any new players from the League of Ireland.

This is why he must look to the UK and European markets to bring in the players who will strengthen his squad. It has to be a strong squad as Dundalk will need the players for their adventures in Europe in the summer.

I spoke to Mark McCadden, the Chief Soccer Correspondent with the Irish Daily Star about all things League of Ireland at the weekend. I wanted to get Mark’s insight into everything that is happening and who he thought would be the top teams next season.

I also spoke to him about Stephen Kenny and the forthcoming Euro 2024 Qualifiers which start in March. I will cover this in next week’s edition.

The Transfer Market

Mark agreed with me that most of the clubs in the Premier Division will be bringing players in on loan from the UK or signing them on a permanent basis. He says that the procedure has worked out well for some clubs, including Dundalk.

He pointed out that the signing of Nathan Shepherd by Stephen O’Donnell had been a revelation. Stephen Bradley was also a great signing, even though he has now gone back to Scotland.

In Mark’s eyes Dundalk benefited well last season by bringing in players from across the UK. He says it has worked well with other clubs too. The Irish Daily Star Senior Soccer Correspondent feels like this process of improving squads has really freshened up the league.

But stressed it was still great to see that there are players beginning to come through club academies. He says Ryan O’Kane was a great success last season. McCadden said O’Kane blended in so well with existing players and those brought in from the UK or those signed on loan.

He agrees that clubs will be looking across the water to get players which will give them the extra edge over other sides.

The loan system worked well for Dundalk last season, given the state the club was in when Stephen O’Donnell walked through the doors of Oriel for the first time as manager.

I agreed with Mark that it did work for Dundalk last season. I pointed out that Dundalk had lost Stephen Bradley, Lewis Macari and Runar Hauge through the loan system. Sam Bone and Joe Adams are also not returning.

These five players have not yet been replaced. It’s a long time since I remember Dundalk not bringing in any new players at this stage of the season. Add to this they will need a stronger squad than last season, seeing that they are in Europe.
Mark has said that loan deals can be unsatisfactory.

I pointed out about what happened when Mark Connolly’s loan deal with Dundalk ended at the end of July. His club in Scotland decided to sell him. Dundalk could not afford to sign Connolly. In stepped Ruaidhri Higgins from Derry who duly snapped up the big centre half.

McCadden agreed that this is where the loan system can be so insecure. Higgins had done nothing wrong. He saw a chance to get a good player and he took it.

Mark says that Derry City and Shamrock Rovers have without doubt picked up the best players available in the league between them. This leaves the rest of the clubs scrapping around to see what’s left.

In his opinion there are only slim pickings left after the likes of Rovers and the Derry have completed their work. This forces the other clubs to look abroad for players.

But Mark believes it’s good for the league to have different cultures there. But he did stress that a club should not go for too many loan deals, as some could depart elsewhere in the summer. If that happens, he believes it would completely mess up a season for a club.

The veteran journalist stated that Dundalk need a very strong and experienced centre half with Mark Connolly gone and Brian

Gartland having retired. He also says the side cannot be fully reliant on Patrick Hoban after he missed the last three months of last season.

Dundalk needs another very good striker. But this could cost the club a lot of money or they may be lucky to get somebody from abroad.

Mark agrees with what Mick Doohan told me last week that Pat does need competition from a younger player. He adds that when you see Derry City signing Collie Whelan and Shamrock Rovers bringing Johnny Kenny back from Scotland, Dundalk will have to look abroad.

He agrees again that Derry and Shamrock Rovers do have the market sewn up. But he says Stephen O’Donnell has shown in the past that he has very good connections.

Mark believes the Galwegian will not be short on options. Dundalk will have to strengthen considerably as the players will be needed when the club start their European campaign.

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He also spoke about of the attendances at games throughout the country have been very good. Dundalk have been getting attendances of between 2,000 to 3,000 at every game at home. The sale of Season tickets for next season has been excellent.

McCadden agreed that attendances at all games have been greatly increased since they were allowed to return at the end of the 2021 season, following the Covid pandemic.

He says that at first it seemed the return to games was responsible for the large attendances. But Mark feels that there is a lot more to it than that. He thinks that clubs have huge work to identify with their communities successfully.

He says attendances Oriel Park, Eamonn Deacy Park, Dalymount and the Brandywell were all up. He believes much of the increase is to do with the newer supporters seeing how the clubs are bonding with their communities.

They do in fact see their clubs as part of the community. Dundalk have really tapped into the community. The results can be seen through the demand for the new club gear when it went on sale before Christmas and the big demand for season tickets.

2023 Predictions

Mark says he only sees two clubs challenging for the title next season. These are of course Shamrock Rovers and Derry City. He recalled that only for the period between mid-May and June, where Derry failed to win a game, the Foyle siders could have picked up the title.

He said that period saw them draw many games. Then Derry would go on great runs. Mark doesn’t see this slump happening again next season, as they have a much stronger squad than last year. One such example is Collie Whelan, who has come from UCD.

Mark says the race for the league title next season will be fascinating. Derry has plenty of experience. For Rovers, Mark believes they won’t be phased by going for the four in a row. He says Johnny Kenny’s arrival to Shamrock Rovers will be a massive boost.

The Irish Daily Star chief soccer reporter says Derry and Rovers have by far the strongest squads in the country. He believes they will pull away from the rest of the other clubs in the Premier Division from early on. But the title race will be very tight.

In his eyes, the only factor that could derail Rovers next season was if their manager departed the club to work abroad. It was pointed out he came very close to taking the Lincoln job last season.

He says that the longer Rovers are involved in Europe, the more of a distraction there will be.But he believes Rovers will be stronger next season. He feels they will go much further in Europe next season as well. And the distraction of Europe will not affect them.

The Dubliner believes that the battle for the European positions in the league will be between Pat’s, Dundalk, Bohemians and possibly Shelbourne. Shelbourne have made great strides under Damian Duff. But it will probably be another year before they challenge.

Cork he sees as a team who will just consolidate themselves in the Premier Division next season.Mark says there will be some scrap for the 3rd and 4th places in the League that may bring Europe. He believes Bohemians and Sligo will also be in contention.

He then turned his attention to relegation. He says it will be very competitive. This season he sees it possibly involving teams from sixth place down to 10th place. He says UCD have a fantastic manager in Andy Meyler. Mark believes there is a big job waiting for him around the corner.

He feels it could be a very messy relegation battle and that you cannot pinpoint two sides and say they are definite relegation sides. Mark was full of praise for Drogheda United. He says they had a great squad last season.

He believes they may be involved in a relegation scrap such will be the competition be for places. But he says they won’t go down.

LOI Facilities

McCadden then began speaking about clubs and their facilities. Some have very good facilities, while other are very poor on that front.

Tallaght stadium, the Brandywell, Turners Cross, Eamonn Deacy Park and the RSC in Waterford have good facilities, as have Sligo Rovers. He says in all these cases an outside organisation have been involved in funding the stadiums.

Local councils have played key roles in the development of some grounds. I pointed out to him that Louth County Council played some part in the go ahead for a new county ground at DKIT for Louth.

I told him I can’t see them supporting a ground development at Oriel. I said that maybe Dundalk could get 25 foreign investors donating €400,000 euro each.

In return the government gives them the chance to reside and work here. The new Louth GAA is being funded by this process.

The sad thing is that there does not seem to be anything on the horizon by the Dundalk owners in terms of any new plans to redevelop the stadium. Drogheda United have plans.

Mark says the local authorities in the country should see the redevelopment of stadiums as a chance to turn grounds into a facility for use by all communities.

Mark stressed that if nothing is done in Dundalk, that in 30 years’ time the main stand will be 90 years old. The redevelopments of stadiums should be seen as the chance for the local councils to see them as community facilities.

Mark said a suggestion of a state-of-the-art stadium being built for Drogheda United and Dundalk in Dunleer would never work.

He says when you can’t even get Bohemians and Shelbourne to use the one facility and they are only a mile and a half apart, the one stadium for the two county Louth clubs will not work.

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Final Thoughts

Mark says he is delighted that Brian Gartland is staying on at Oriel following his retirement. He says he will be a hugely positive influence as part of Stephen O’Donnell’s backroom team.

Gartland’s been so long in the town that he has a Dundalk passport, and he is now part of the area. Mark says Brian knows how to motivate people. He knows how to talk to people, and they will listen. Mark knows Brian very well as he wrote his autobiography that came out before Christmas.

Finally, I asked Mark who will win the League next season. He says it will be very competitive. But he believes it will be Shamrock Rovers. He says the chance of winning four in a row will be a great incentive.

In terms of relegation, he believes it will be UCD. This was despite the fact that he had talked them up. He says it’s just going to be so competitive that he just thinks they will be relegated.

So expect the new signings to be revealed at Oriel in the coming days and weeks. It’s imperative Dundalk get it right. Equally it’s vital the owners support the manager financially all the way.

I hope you all had a very happy Christmas. I wish you all a very happy new year. Remember to look after each other. And please be careful out there.