Stephen Bradley predicting good quality Shamrock Rovers clash with Molde

Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley said the club is looking to bring in "one or two more" players before the transfer deadline. Pic: Marius Simensen/Sportsfile

Seldom does a League of Ireland team play a competitive fixture before the domestic season starts but Shamrock Rovers are glad to be stretched.

Progression into the playoff stage of the Conference League pits them against Molde, the Norwegian club best known for showcasing Erling Haaland’s repertoire and, before him, Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

By virtue of their struggles in squeezing through the league phase, behind the Irish representatives in the table, Molde are unseeded and must trek to Tallaght in a week’s time for the reverse leg.

Last year, their failure to qualify for next season’s European competitions, plus a Cup final defeat, brought Erling Moe’s decade-long managerial involvement to an abrupt end.

Per-Mathias Hogmo looked to be on his way to Scottish club Hearts last October but the late collapse of those talks led Molde to offer the former manager of Norway’s women’s team the vacancy.

His first assignment was a training camp in Marbella, due to the country’s season being a summer version like Ireland, and fellow guests St Patrick’s Athletic inflicted a 2-1 defeat on his side in a friendly.

On Thursday, they’ll be back on home soil – well, home artificial surface – with a business mindset. Rovers have grossed €6m in prize-money from this European run but hurdling this obstacle to be among the last 16 would be priceless.

“As a group, as a collective, Molde are strong,” noted Bradley, himself nine years in the post. “They are well organised and well drilled.

“They have dynamic players in the final third, you can see that. They understand their game and everyone’s game as a collective very well, so they’re a strong team but so are we.

It has the makings to be a really good fixture.” 

Since their last European outing, the glamour one-off game at Chelsea in December, Rovers have lost Neil Farrugia to Barnsley, loanee Darragh Burns favoured a move to Grimsby Town while Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers opted to keep Johnny Kenny rather than sanction a third temporary move to Tallaght.

“There’s a nice feel around the group and although the players who left were very good for us and we wish them well, it’s always important that new faces come in and you keep evolving as a group,” 

Bradley said about the off-season turnover.

“We’re still looking to bring in one or two more. We’ve been working on them for some time now.

“We won’t bring in bodies just for the sake of it, we’ve never done that.” 

Rovers will be without Jack Byrne, Trevor Clarke, Rory Gaffney and Darragh Nugent through injury.

Uefa Conference League last-16 playoff first leg Molde FK v Shamrock Rovers, Aker Stadium (Thursday, 5.45pm, Irish time, Premier Sports).