League of Ireland:When the draw was made for the first qualifying round of the Uefa Cup the one apparent consolation for St Patrick's Athletic fans was that if their side did go out to Odense they would be able to concentrate on rediscovering their early season league form while Drogheda United, who faced rather more manageable opponents from San Marino, would be obliged to contend with wider-ranging commitments for at least a few extra weeks.

As it turned out, though, the manner of their defeat in Denmark dealt a further blow to the Dubliners who go to United Park tonight (7.45) knowing that defeat will all but end their chances of bringing the title back to Inchicore. Their recent run of disappointing league form continued this week when they failed to beat UCD at home, but it's still last week's 5-0 defeat by the Danes that hangs over them as they head into the most important league game of the campaign so far.

"There's no doubt at all that it was a major disappointment," concedes Darragh Maguire, who has again assumed the captaincy while Colm Foley recovers from injury. "But if you concede three goals from set pieces as we did over there then you don't actually have to be dominated that comprehensively to lose by five.

"Nobody is making excuses for the result or saying that they wouldn't have won anyway but the scoreline probably did make it look a little bit worse than it was. What we have to do now is put it behind us and move forward. I know everybody's saying that Drogheda will be eight ahead with a game in hand if they win this game but we can't go into it thinking like that."

Maguire's own form has been consistently impressive in recent months with the 31-year-old excelling in the home leg of the Uefa Cup tie. He struggles, however, to identify what it is exactly that has caused the team to lose its momentum so comprehensively over the last couple of months.

"We've had a few injuries to important players but nothing like what Drogheda have had to deal with so I can't really single that out. What I would say is that it's not for a lack of effort on the part of the players or the technical staff up there.

"I've been at Pats for something like eight or nine seasons now and for the last three or four of those we've spent most of the time battling away at the wrong end of the table. This year that's changed but suddenly everybody expects us to be in top form all the time."

Is there a feeling then the team may actually have started the season a little strongly for their own good given how early it still is in the club's post takeover redevelopment. "Nah," says Maguire. "If we hadn't started well and then hit some problems we might have been down fighting against relegation now so you'd never complain about a strong start."

His own status as one of the club's few remaining part-timers suggests that he might get left behind as the management look to use Garrett Kelleher's money to move things on to the mythical "next level" but Maguire remains optimistic about his future at a club he has served well since arriving from Glenmore Celtic in 1999. "I know there was some talk that I might go when Stephen Paisley arrived from Longford, that I'd been offered in exchange, but I talked to the manager who said it was the never the case and I certainly didn't want to leave.

"Up to now I think the arrangement I have has worked well. I train in the morning and go on to work in the afternoon. My contract's up at the end of the season but I'm hopeful."

On current form it's hard to imagine them letting him go. A win tonight, followed by a successful revival of the club's championship challenge, though, and it would surely become completely unthinkable.