Byrne goes straight in to St Pat's squad

St Patrick's Athletic travel to The Showgrounds to take on Sligo Rovers this Saturday and will be looking to build on their away victory against Cork City last weekend.

Jeff Kenna will be able to call upon experienced midfield duo Stuart Byrne and Gary Dempsey for the trip to the North West.

Byrne completed his signing for St Pat's last Saturday and goes straight into the squad while Dempsey returns having served a two-match ban.

The Saints will be without both Glenn Fitzpatrick and Damian Lynch, who serve one-match bans for yellow cards accumulated last season.

Kenna was pleased with his side’s performance on Leeside last week and said that he will be looking for more of the same.

He said: "The trip to Sligo is going to be another difficult away game like last week but I’ll be looking for another dogged performance like the lads gave in Cork.

"Sligo haven’t had the best of starts and they’ll be eager to get their first win of the season under their belt, particularly at home."

On the injury front Brendan Clarke (foot), Stephen Maher (knee) and Bobby Ryan (groin) are long term absentees for Pats but the Saints hope to include Mark Quigley in the squad for the first time this season.

Last season's top scorer dislocated his shoulder in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea but is recovering well and should be available for selection.