Where to now for Shamrock Rovers? Having had no home to call their own for 16 years, they now find themselves in the perilous situation of having possibly worn out their welcome everywhere else.

The goodwill of their Dublin rivals towards accommodating them is at its lowest ebb and the nomads of Irish football could now become its outcasts as the development of their ground in Tallaght continues to stall, with no concrete timescale available for when we will see Shamrock Rovers playing there.

There is little doubt that anybody who has a genuine feeling for the National League wants Shamrock Rovers, somewhat ironically still the talisman club of the senior game in this country, to be alive and well. Only the most boorish of rival fans will take any satisfaction from seeing them in their current plight.

The club's very existence has been a source of discussion ever since Glenmalure Park in Milltown was sold for development in 1987 with no definite alternative accommodation arranged.

Shamrock Rovers' precarious situation today is the bitter legacy of those who made that decision.

Despite the hugely commendable efforts of first John McNamara, then Joe Colwell, and the incumbent chairman, Tony Maguire, to keep the club afloat, the trials and tribulations of Shamrock Rovers go on and on.

A season of promise has turned into a nightmare where their collapse in form on the field has now been overshadowed by their pressing difficulties off it.

Their eviction from Richmond Park by St Patrick's Athletic, following the crowd trouble after the recent Bohemians match, now leaves them searching for another a home from home for the rest of this season.

Frustration perhaps got the better of Maguire following the confirmation of the eviction when, to many observers, his criticism of St Patrick's for making what he called a hasty decision appeared a little disingenuous.

"St Pat's have been fantastic to us in the 20 games we've had up there," said Maguire. "I don't think we have had trouble at more than two of them. I just think people reacted a little more swiftly than was expedient to do," he added, insisting he hasn't given up hope of persuading St Patrick's to change their mind.

"It's a victory for the hooligans," Maguire continued. "We intend to root these hooligan elements out of the game."

But have Rovers not had a particularly virulent hooligan element, however much in the minority, for some considerable time? Talk of rooting them out now seems to be a little late.

"It's not a case of can we do it, it's a case of having to do it," said Maguire.

"At this stage we have no friends because of a small group of people that could be anywhere between 25 and 100. I'd prefer not to say exactly how we are going to do it, but just to assure you that plans have been put in place to enable us to do it."

So what are the possibilities of Rovers finding a home venue to see out the season? UCD have granted Belfield to them for Friday's league meeting between the sides, prompting suggestions that it's the front runner.

On the wider picture, Maguire confirmed yesterday that a deal with an unnamed financial institution, to be agreed over the next few weeks, should provide the necessary finance to enable work on the Tallaght ground to resume next month, with the first phase due to be finished by the end of March.

For all connected with the club, that would mark the end of a long and turbulent road. Now, more than ever, getting to their new home can't come quickly enough for Shamrock Rovers.