FAI Cup Third round: Newly-appointed Derry City manager Stephen Kenny, who takes the northerners to Tolka Park this evening for the opening game of the Carlsberg FAI Cup second round, has close to a full-strength squad as he begins the task of turning around a club that has struggled to fulfil its potential over the past few years.
Kenny said: "They've avoided relegation on the last day of the season for the past two years, so it will be a tough job, but if you can get things right at a club like this then clearly the potential is enormous and that's what attracted me to the job."
Mark Farren misses this evening's game with a hamstring injury while Gerry Gill is only due back from a stint with the Irish under-19s in England this morning and so Kenny is unsure whether he will be available.
"I saw the game against Dublin City last week, but it was poor and I would expect the tempo against Shelbourne to be a lot higher so I'll look to deal with that, although the line-up might not be entirely in tune with my longer term plans."
The aim, Kenny adds, is to build a team on players from, or based around, the city. "It has a population of 110,000 and a great tradition in the game. There's some exceptional players from here playing for other clubs here or in the lower divisions in England and the hope would be to bring in a few new faces for the start of next season."
Pat Fenlon welcomed Kenny's appointment, observing he had always felt his rival had been harshly treated by Bohemians.
The Shelbourne boss has Jason Byrne and Glen Fitzpatrick back from suspension, presenting him with the option of redeploying Alan Moore and Joseph Ndo who filled the attacking roles in Cork at the weekend.
