Setanta Sports Cup:Not so long ago the prospect of Derry City meeting Linfield in a competitive game was as remote as it was mouth-watering.

A few short seasons on, group-stage encounters between the two are staples of the Setanta Sports Cup, but they are still likely to be among the highlights of this year's competition after the pair were drawn yesterday in by far the tougher side of this year's competition along with Glentoran and St Patrick's Athletic.

Games between them may be more common now but, insists Derry skipper Peter Hutton, they are no less special, with the atmosphere at the Brandywell and Windsor Park certain to provide a reminder of just how much is at stake.

"I think it's the last two seasons that we've ended up in the same group as both Linfield and Glentoran, but none of the bite or the edge will be lost from the games, the fans will make sure of that," he says.

"It hurts them and us that we've not made it out of the group on either occasion and we'll be determined to put that right this year. We flattered to deceive last season and it was particularly disappointing to have been 2-0 up on Linfield at the Brandywell and to have thrown the lead away. It's very important that we do better in the competition this time around."

Hutton is diplomatic about the chaos that engulfed the club last season, one in which so much had been expected, but he is adamant Stephen Kenny can take up where he left off and lead the Candystripes to even greater success than he enjoyed during his first spell in charge.

"Most of the same players are still there, and when we started back to training on Tuesday it was almost like he'd never been away," says the club's inspirational defender. "Last season was terribly disappointing, but I don't think it will take much for Stephen to motivate players to pick up where they left off. We're probably a couple of lads short, but I'm sure he's looking to put that right and there's a great buzz about what we can achieve this year."

The team to be toppled will be Drogheda United, who won both this competition and the League of Ireland championship during 2007, a record they're anxious to repeat.

The change in format, with more than half the competition shifted back from the spring and early summer to the autumn, favours the Irish League teams, though, and defending their all-Ireland crown will be tough for United, whose initial task will be to get out of a group that also contains Cliftonville, Cork City and Dungannon Swifts.

"The changes mean that if you're going well in a few competitions, particularly if you get a bit of a run in Europe, then it might get difficult in terms of prioritising things at the end of the summer," says United winger Ollie Cahill.

"The players enjoy this competition, though. It's good to be going to different places and testing yourself against different teams," he says. "For me, this year, it will a first time to play at either Dungannon or Cliftonville, and that's exciting for players and good for the club's supporters."

United's home game against Cliftonville, unbeaten in the Irish League so far this season but debutants in this competition, is likely to kick off the sponsors' live coverage of this year's group stages on February 26th.

Setanta's Niall Cogley said the company remains committed to the competition despite having added so much English, European and international football to their schedule, and he hopes the change in timing would help to make it more competitive.

Meanwhile, Howard Wells, the IFA chief executive, has said any proposal to establish an all-Ireland league would receive a "sympathetic" hearing from the association. But, he insisted, any such move would require the backing of both of the island's governing bodies it is to become a reality.

"If anything comes through the two governing bodies then we would certainly look at it sympathetically, and I believe that we can achieve absolutely anything if we work together," he said.

"At the moment, though, we don't really know what's on the table. There has been no firm proposals received about any of this and none of us has actually seen a business plan, so there's very little to discuss."