Stephen Kenny calls Dundalk to arms

After Dundalk had taken a giant step towards a third successive league title by beating Longford Town 3-0 on Monday night, Stephen Kenny surveyed a dressing room which resembled a field hospital more than a party zone, with players stretched out on benches nursing injuries or simply laid low by sheer fatigue, as a fourth game in 10 days took its toll.

“You look around and you’re thinking: ‘Jeez, we’re playing Zenit in two days, we’re in trouble’, the manager reflects. “You should be euphoric because you’re seven points clear but you’re not, you’re thinking: ‘How are we going to get right for a game in two days?’”

While a hamstring problem definitely rules skipper Stephen O’Donnell out of tonight’s Europa League meeting with the powerhouse club from St Petersburg, there are also doubts about John Mountney (back), Chris Shields (groin), and Sean Gannon (calf). All are “desperate to play”, says Kenny, but he knows he will have to make some difficult calls today if he is to ensure his side can do itself justice against a club which boasts 17 full internationals and which, as the Dundalk boss wryly notes, could afford to turn down an offer from Juventus of €20m for Axel Witsel, the player who was such a thorn in Ireland’s side when they lost 3-0 to Belgium in the Euros.