What a difference a managerial appointment can make.
Irish football fans have gone from former international boss Giovanni Trapattoni claiming that “in Ireland there is no league,” to current manager Martin O’Neill staunchly backing the domestic game.
O’Neill is a huge believer in the talent that progresses through the League of Ireland and he regularly monitors the players in the hope that, sooner rather than later, they’ll be making a push for a place in the national team.
O’Neill was in attendance at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday night to witness Dundalk put forward the performance of a lifetime to guarantee themselves Europa League football and place themselves in a position where they are just 180 minutes away from the Champions League group stages.
Coming from a goal down from the first leg, the Lilywhites scored three without reply on Tuesday to eliminate BATE Borisov and O’Neill was thrilled with what he had seen.
The Derry man was so taken with the 90 minutes that he grasped the opportunity to congratulate the players as he visited the dressing room after the full time whistle to deliver a motivational speech and have a bit of craic with the delighted Dundalk heroes.
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