Doolin not looking ahead

A home win over St Patrick's Athletic this evening would leave his Drogheda United side eight points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand but Paul Doolin is far from comfortable with the suggestion that the three points would put the league leaders in a commanding position.

"Funny enough," he said yesterday, "I was doing the garden last week and I said to myself, 'Which highly intelligent fellow will be the first to say that it's their league to lose?'"

Such is the downside, it seems, of putting daylight between yourselves and the pack in the title race.

Doolin's opposite number, John McDonnell, admits it will be "advantage Drogheda" if United do prevail this evening, "while a draw wouldn't be the worst result imaginable for them", but both managers point to the closeness of most recent campaigns as evidence that leading a league three months before it is finished and actually winning it are two very different things.

The hosts will again be without Declan O'Brien, Shane Barrett and Jason Gavin, while Damien Lynch is also ruled out by a heel injury that will keep him sidelined for 10 days.

Graham Gartland returns from suspension, though, and is likely to slot in alongside John Tambouras at the heart of the United defence.

The Dubliners travel without Stephen Paisley, Michael Keane and Colm Foley, while Gary O'Neill's return has been set back by an ankle injury sustained this week in training. Joseph Ndo, however, looks to have finally shaken off the knee problem that has kept him out since the middle of May and the midfielder is set, at the very least, for a place on the bench.

At Dalymount Park, Cork City will start life without Roy O'Donovan (who completed his move to Sunderland yesterday), while Darren Murphy and Denis Behan are also out through injury. Joe Gamble and Liam Kearney face late tests but SeáKelly returns from suspension. Mark Rossiter is suspended for the home side.

Galway United travel to Belfield in search of their first win in more than two months and Tony Cousins may have John Russell and John O'Flynn fit again. Seán Hargan is suspended for Derry after being sent off last week but Killian Brennan, Mark Farren and Barry Molloy are all available to face Longford, who are at the Brandywell looking to secure their fourth successive league victory.

Ahead of their game in Waterford, Derek Pender and Ger O'Brien are slight doubts for Shamrock Rovers after taking knocks in what manager Pat Scully describes as his side's "appalling performance" against Bohemians in the League Cup.

"As a manager I like these situations, though, because we'll find out how big people are, including myself," he said.

Dave Mulcahy will retain the captain's armband on his first home appearance since returning to Waterford, Gareth Cronin hoping his side can build on last week's win in Galway.