SOCCER: Just a couple of months into his fledgling career in football management they're all big games for Pat Fenlon at the moment but after some dramatic lows and highs these past few weeks, the Shelbourne manager knows that this evening's meeting with his former club St Patrick's Athletic marks the start of a particularly testing period. Emmet Malone looks at the prospects for Shelbourne's 33-year-old manager.

As a player Fenlon, whose career also included spells at Bohemians, Linfield and Shamrock Rovers, would always have relished this evening's big league derby as well as next week's sequel in the cup. And even as he strives to establish his credentials in his new role at Tolka Park, the 33-year-old is working hard to enjoy the build-up just as much. By now, though, it's beginning to sink in that nothing is really quite the same at all any more.

"There are so many differences," he admits, "between what's involved in looking after yourself as a player and trying to look after 18 or 19 lads. Of course I always knew that there'd be a lot more involved but it has surprised me at times some of things that crop up when you're trying to handle everything on and off the pitch."

Finding himself in charge in hardly an entirely new experience for the former under-21 international. For several years he has run a contract cleaning business and each day still starts with a check on how his company is ticking over before he settles down to his duties at Tolka Park.

The routine may still need a bit of tinkering with before it is completely right but for the moment Fenlon feels that things are coming along reasonably well considering how much sooner than expected he has made the move from centre stage and into the dug-out.

He is still a player, of course, but feels that the advantages of watching things from the sidelines outweigh those of regular involvement in the team's midfield. "Even in training it was difficult to do both but during the games it's much easier to see the broader picture in a game when you're standing, looking on. The fact that I had a bit of a rib injury originally meant that I had to take a bit of a step back but then there was a bit of pressure with the way things were going and I realised I had to step further back to really take stock of things."

Three goals conceded in each of the team's first two league games and the subsequent loss to Hibernians of Malta certainly would have brought some pressure but 16 goals scored in their last three matches, eight of them against Rockmount in the Cup but another eight against premier league opposition, have restored pride and confidence within the squad.

"The Hibernians things was a disaster," he sighs, "maybe it was down to a bit of inexperience but I felt we played well that night and we've definitely been going well since."

Despite the fact that 11 different players have scored for his side in the past three games, Fenlon has been preoccupied this week with an attempt to sign a new striker. Tonight, though, that search and just about everything else will be set to one side for 90 minutes as he returns to Richmond Park for the first time as a manager.

Fenlon believes that Pat Dolan's success there has been based on his ability to create the same sort of spirit possessed by Brian Kerr's side more than a decade ago. "They have some good players but then there's that something extra that we had back then too. They're a very good side, probably the favourites for the league, them and Bohemians.

"There's others, of course, Cork will certainly be strong again. But we've got a good squad here too. There's a few things I'd like to do, bring in a player or two to freshen it up, it takes a bit of time to put your stamp on it.

"But I feel it's going well and if I can get them playing to their potential we'll be there or thereabouts too."