Shelbourne likely to land Geoghegan

Shelbourne were still on course last night to confirm the appointment of Stephen Geoghegan as their new manager with chief executive Ollie Byrne remarking there were "only one or two minor details remaining to be sorted out".

Geoghegan has himself suggested there are issues outstanding in relation to the club's finances but both parties appear confident the situation will be resolved in the next few days.

The club has been seeking to replace Pat Fenlon for several weeks and a degree of urgency surrounds the situation given the number of players that have left Tolka Park since the end of last season.

Byrne has dismissed suggestions that Geoghegan, a hugely successful striker during his nine seasons with Shelbourne, is too inexperienced, insisting Fenlon was in a similar situation when he made the transition from player to manager four years ago.

The fact, however, that Geoghegan lacks the Uefa B coaching badge required by managers of clubs entering the qualifying stages of the Champions League has created difficulties for Byrne who will attempt to sidestep the rule by ostensibly handing Jason Donoghue, a coach who has been working with Geoghegan at AUL outfit WFTA (West Finglas Tenants' Association), responsibility for picking the team.

"Stephen will have responsibility for contracts and sorting out what players he wants to bring to the club," said Byrne last night, "while Jason will pick the team."

The dispute between Limerick and the FAI will return to the High Court on Thursday after the club were granted an adjournment yesterday to consider their response to a 128-page document lodged by the association explaining their decision to exclude the Hogan Park outfit from senior football next year.

It is expected a date for a hearing of the case will be set for as early as next week.

Bohemians manager Seán Connor believes a top-four place and a place in Europe would be a reasonable stepping stone to an all-out championship challenge for the the club, given their resources now.

"People will certainly expect us to win titles and that's fine with me, I want the bar to be set high," he said after unveiling new signings Owen Heary and Neale Fenn yesterday afternoon.

"Obviously we'll be looking to win the title at the first attempt but I think a place in the top four would be a decent enough first year given how many new players have come in after which we'd look to step it up again."

Connor said that Heary and Fenn would prove particularly valuable additions as they are "both winners with a great attitude and experience of winning the title before".

They join a string of new faces at Dalymount, including Darren Mansaram and Liam Burns, both of whom have followed Connor from Sligo Rovers and Waterford-born goalkeeper Brian Murphy who has had spells at Manchester City, Peterborough and Swansea.

"I'm confident that given the quality of the lads and the fact that most of them know the league here like the back of their hands they'll hit the ground running and go on to be very successful together," said Connor.