Emmet Malone talks to right back Tony O'Connor about how Bohemians plan to use tomorrow to make amends for a season in which the club have fallen way short of their own high expectations
He may have secured his status as a favourite amongst the club's fans long before last year's cup final, but the goal he scored to clinch not only Bohemians' cup triumph against Longford Town but also its memorable double last May firmly etched the name of Tony O'Connor into the Dalymount Park history books.
As he completed another regular day at the office well away from his full-time team-mates yesterday, the 35-year-old Dubliner was confident that, far from being merely a part of the club's past, he can still contribute to its future, regardless of what happens tomorrow afternoon at Tolka Park.
"The plan is to sit down and talk things over with Stephen (Kenny) on Tuesday and hopefully we'll sort something out that sees me stay here for another season," says the full back who has reclaimed the right back position after appearing to lose out to Brian Shelley earlier in the campaign.
O'Connor may always have ended up being Kenny's first choice after the new man arrived at the club in December and the various injury and suspension problems then troubling the club had settled down, but Shelley's decision to join Roddy Collins at Carlisle seemed to settle the issue.
Down the years, of course, O'Connor has seen his share of comings and goings and the former St Patrick's defender laughs now as he considers the level of traffic through Phibsborough over the past few seasons.
"It's all just part of the game," he observes, "I mean, apart from Mick Dempsey and myself, I don't think there's anyone here longer than three years. But that's football and now the new manager will want to put his own shape on things, it would be more surprising if that wasn't the way really."
Like so many others at the club, O'Connor main concern tomorrow is to go some way towards making amends for a season in which Bohemians have fallen terribly short of expectations. "We should have been much higher in the league, we all know that, but the cup gives us another chance and if we can make sure that the club is involved in Europe next season then we'll have finished on a high and made sure we're in a strong position after the summer.
"We know we're one of the strongest two or three sides in the country, winning the cup will go some way towards showing other people what we're capable of doing when we start over in July."
By then, both teams may look very different, for Kenny may clear out as many as a dozen players by the start of next season when not only will Shelley, Trevor Molloy and Dave Hill amongst others be gone from Dalymount, but a handful of Dundalk's biggest names may well have departed too.
At Oriel Park, financial considerations are likely to drive the review of personnel, particularly if the club, having been relegated last week, fails to salvage something from the season by qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
"Obviously, it's a consideration," says Martin Murray, whose own future is unlikely to be clarified, despite some notable signs of support over the past few days, until next week.
"Winning the cup could mean being in a position to hold on to some of the club's best players because of the money the club could generate from playing in Europe.
"That's probably the most important thing riding on the match from this club's point of view."
Those players that have given any indication have said that they hope to stay and help the club in its fight to bounce back from the first division, a level at which this current group of players would surely thrive, but there is a widespread recognition that higher earners like James Keddy, Stephen McGuinness and Garry Haylock might need to be sacrificed as Dundalk sets about the business of cutting its cloth.
A win tomorrow and the changes should, at least, be less dramatic than if the Lillywhites suffer a second major setback in the space of just eight days.
