Setanta four are in better shape

National League Previews: It might well take its toll come November but for the moment the four Eircom National League teams with a couple of Setanta Cup matches under their belts look to be in a strong position to take full advantage of their early starts to the season by making good starts to the new Premier Division campaign tonight.

Of the leading contenders for this year's title only Derry City have what might be described as significant injury concerns ahead of this evening's first round of matches in the new campaign with the Candystripes obliged to cope without central defenders Kevin Deery and Clive Delaney.

The latter is back in training and, after a preseason disrupted by back trouble, could be playing by next week. But for the moment Stephen Kenny will stick with Peter Hutton and new recruit Ken Oman for the visit of UCD.

"We want to get off to a good start but traditionally UCD are a side that can upset anybody's plans as Shelbourne found out on the first day of last season," says Kenny. "It's a new challenge to be playing the Setanta Cup games during the first few weeks of the league but the performances in the couple of games so far have been good and everyone around the place is looking forward to getting the campaign under way."

Champions Cork are without Billy Woods who would have been in line to step into the role vacated by Liam Kearney. The former Shamrock Rovers player is still a week or two away from full fitness and so George O'Callaghan is likely to start on the left with Colin O'Brien partnering Joe Gamble in central midfield.

For newly promoted and heavily reconstructed Dublin City the visit to Turner's Cross is a tough start to the new campaign but, says Dermot Keely, "we spent a year in the wilderness trying to get into this situation . . . be going to Cork rather than Cobh, so we're not going to start moaning about it now that we're here."

The visitors have Ger McCarthy suspended and are without the injured Mick O'Donnell while Mark Rooney is a doubt. But having been busy in the transfer market over the close season there are still options to choose from.

"The bottom line is that you only get so much to spend and I've spent it; so time will tell," says Keely. "Of course, we could be stronger if there was more money but I'm happy with the players that we've brought in and confident they'll do well . . . which is not to say that it won't be a very tough season."

At Richmond Park, St Patrick's kick off their campaign hoping for much better things than last time around and John McDonnell has a near full squad for the visit of Waterford United.

"We're at home and playing Waterford who, with the greatest of respect, aren't Shelbourne, Derry, Cork or Drogheda so we're confident because outside of those four we'd feel we're comfortably a match for anyone."

His cause might be helped too by early season problems for Mike Kerley, who is still waiting for three international clearances to go through. United have suffered numerous defections during the close season as the club's budget was further cut but Kerley is hoping that the new recruits rise to the challenge and he should get an early indication of how they might fare.

Across the city, two clubs aiming to mount a challenge at the top meet at Dalymount where Drogheda are without Stephen Bradley due to an ankle injury while a Bohemians side, bolstered by the return of long-term injury victim Thomas Heary, should be at full strength.