Harris pleased with balanced squad

Jamie Harris thinks St Patrick’s Athletic have the right balance of youth and experience in their squad for the 2009 season.

The experienced defender, who has retained the captaincy, knows that The Super Saints were under pressure to find replacements for the 16 first-team players that left the club during the off-season.

Even though they lost quality players like Keith Fahey, Stephen Paisley, Joseph Ndo, and Gary O’Neill, manager Jeff Kenna was able to bring in some new faces as he began reshaping the squad ahead of what will be a big season for the Dublin club.

Alan Cawley, Gary Rogers, John Lester, Garreth O’Connor, and Gints Freimanis are just some of the names that have been drafted into Inchicore to provide competition for places and ensure that St Pat’s stay in contention for the league title.

Harris is quite enthused by these captures, but also reckons some of the club’s younger players can have an impact this season and that the mixture of young & old is something that can benefit the club in their pursuit of silverware.

“Most clubs lost a lot of players this year and we were no different, but we have brought in some very good players in place of them,” stated Harris.

“Obviously, you want to keep hold of guys like Keith Fahey, but you can’t really stop him from going to a big club in England. We wish him all the best, but for us it is all about continuing the good work that we did last year.

“Jeff (Kenna) has brought in a few guys that have played in the league already, so they know what to expect, and a few others that will want to prove themselves at this level. All of the lads have been working hard in pre-season and are eager to get going in games now.

“We also have guys like Noel Haverty, Brendan Clarke, and Andy Haran coming through from the younger teams. They have done well in training and the pre-season games, so I expect them to add something extra to the squad.

“The aim is to win a trophy this year and I think we have a good squad to achieve that. The balance is just right, so it is up to us now to go out and get the results.”