“To be honest I would not consider Stephen moving to Northampton as a negative story for the club,” Pat Scully explained to Leader Sport.
“I think myself that it’s a positive story. I think it’s a great thing for us. It sends out the message that if you play for Limerick and do well for the club you will get an opportunity to move on. That’s great for a club. Now players know that people respect what we’re doing at the club and that big clubs are paying attention to the talented players we have. That’s a very positive thing in my opinion.”
Striker Stephen O’Flynn signed for the English League Two outfit Northampton Town on Tuesday afternoon. O’Flynn joined the Super Blues last July and since the Mallow man fired in 14 goals in just 13 games for Limerick Pat Scully always suspected that it would prove difficult to retain the services of the talented 27-year-old centre-forward.
“We knew that a couple of clubs were interested in Stephen, but when an English club gets interested it’s very difficult to hold onto a player,” admitted Pat Scully.
“We were very close to signing Stephen before Christmas, but obviously that didn’t work out. In saying that we’re delighted for Stephen. Everyone at the club is. We did our best to encourage him to stay with Limerick and he really did enjoy his time with Limerick. And you never know we could see Stephen in a Limerick jersey again.”
Limerick FC have already signed a number of players for the 2010 season (Jack Allen, Peter Balogh, Daniel Clinton, Derek Daly, Dean Finnan, Ed Gallagher, Aaron Leahy, Darren Lynch, David Njuki, Michael Sheehan, John Boyle, Daryl Kavanagh, Dave Ryan, John Tierney, Martin Deady, Jason Hughes, Thomas Lyons, Shane Tracy, Conor Molan & Brian Collopy) and manager Pat Scully has asked Declan Cahill (formerly of Cobh Ramblers and Cork City) to join the club’s pre-season training camp with a view to possibly signing for the season ahead.
Super Blues supporters will also be heartened to note that Peter White has also joined the club.
“He (Peter White) really is a big signing for us and I’m delighted about it,” added Pat Scully.
“He’s a versatile player in that he can play at the back or in midfield and he’s a great athlete.
“We’re still very hopeful of signing three or four more players, but there’s no real rush as of yet.”
In fact, Pat Scully doesn’t think that Limerick FC need to sign many players. He is confident that, with the talent at his disposal, the current squad can challenge for promotion.
“We don’t need to change the whole thing,” insisted Pat Scully.
“We don’t need to make a lot of signings. We already have some very talented players. We do need to add a few more, but we already have a good squad and there’s no point in signing players unless they are right for the club. We have a strong squad and we are expecting to have a very good season.
“People forget that we were missing people like Pat Purcell, Jason Hughes, Thomas Lyons and Brian O’Callaghan for long periods of last season,” added Pat Scully.
“Then you have a guy like Paul Cummins who missed nearly all of last year. We’re hopeful that Paul will be fit for the start of the new season and with players like him in the team we are expecting to do well.
“It’s not about signing ten or 12 players. We just don’t need them. Another three or four and I would be very happy. I’m very pleased with how things are going.”
Limerick FC have also released details of pre-season friendlies against Premier Division outfits St. Patrick’s Athletic (February 13) and UCD (February 27) - both matches will be played away from home.
The Limerick FC squad will also participate in a pre-season training camp on February 19-21 in the Breaffy House Hotel (Castlebar).
What could, however, really grab the attention of local soccer fans is a potential clash between Kilmurry Lodge Premier League champions Pike Rovers and Limerick FC in the quarter-finals of the Munster Senior Cup. As a League of Ireland club Limerick FC are exempt from the early rounds of the competition, but now await either Pike Rovers or St. Mary’s (Munster Senior League) in the last eight. Should the Hoops beat St. Mary’s they will enjoy home advantage against the Super Blues in what could prove an extremely entertaining encounter.
Limerick FC have also launched a number of new initiatives to help raise funds for the club - full details of these are available on: limerickfc.ie. Entry to the club’s ‘Last Man Standing’ competition costs just €20 while supporters of the club can now play Leo’s Lotto online - the first weekly draw will take place on January 21 with a €1,000 jackpot up for grabs (tickets cost €2).
Limerick FC has also purchased two ten-year Vantage Club Tickets for the Aviva Stadium and an annual draw will be held to allocate these tickets to one lucky supporter - tickets for the draw cost just €20.
Meanwhile the Republic of Ireland under-16 manager John Morling has named Fairview Rangers’ Rhys Healy in his 18-strong squad for an international double-header away to Israel on Monday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 13. The squad will travel to Tel Aviv this weekend.
Republic of Ireland under-16 squad: Steven Smith (Arsenal), Carel TioFack (Ballincollig AFC), Adam Evans, Darragh Lenihan, Eoin Hyland, Kealan Dillon (all Belvedere), Conor O’Donnell (Buncrana Hearts), Shane Griffin (Carrigaline Utd), Brandon Miele, Jamie Smith, Luke Gallagher (all Cherry Orchard), Michael Drennan (Evergreen), Rhys Healy (Fairview Rangers), Joseph Coll (Glenea Utd), Sami Ade Osobe (Glenmuir Utd), James Murphy (Reading), John Kavanagh (Ringmahon Rangers) & Kenneth McEvoy (Villa FC).
BRIAN MCDONNELL
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