Ahead of the new SSE Airtricity League 2017 season, we caught up with Sligo Rovers midfielder Kieran Sadlier to see what he thinks ahead of the new campaign. Q: Kieran, looking back on last season, Sligo Rovers did very well but are you looking to p
Ahead of the new SSE Airtricity League 2017 season, we caught up with Sligo Rovers midfielder Kieran Sadlier to see what he thinks ahead of the new campaign.
Q: Kieran, looking back on last season, Sligo Rovers did very well but are you looking to push on again this year?
KIERAN: We did well. We didn’t have a great start to the season and people wrote us off quite early on. It was difficult for us to pick it up again but we picked up some really good results, including wins at Dundalk and Cork City, towards the end and we could have finished higher than 5th. Our aim has to be to go even further next season and make sure we’re challenging for the European spot and we’re more than capable.
Q: Matthew Stevens and a few others have come over from England for the new season. You must be happy with the quality coming in?
KIERAN: Yeah, Matthew has come in with a great reputation on loan from Peterborough and up front is the position we need to strengthen really. He looks strong on the ball so I’m looking forward to linking up with him. We need some more bodies of course as one or two have left but the early signs have been really good for us. Pre-season has been going well, the manager has put on a challenging schedule with plenty of games but that is what we want. There is a really good togetherness in the squad so it was good to get back to it.
Q: It’s a good young squad at Sligo with plenty of players developing their game so it must be a good place to be to progress...
KIERAN: There are quite a lot of players who were there last season who are still there this season and that will be good for us. The new lads need to come in and gel with the team as it can be difficult coming into the league when you don’t know the style and quality. I did it last season with a few other boys so it’s a progress you go through. I think with all the teams looking for the next level, it will be tough but an exciting year.
