Noel King marks his return to SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division football for the first time in over two decades with a home game against Bohemians in Oriel Park this evening.
The appointment attracted derision from some, particularly those who harbour a negative impression of King from his time with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s side, though it's worth noting that he has recently guided Shelbourne to back-to-back SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division titles.
The man himself was surprised at his appointment, the decision being made by the club owner Brian Ainscough, King's former player at schoolboy level.
Dundalk remain three points adrift at the bottom without a win to their name this season and tonight host a Bohemians side that have shot up the table with four wins from six since Alan Reynolds took over as manager.
Drumcondra witnesses the only Dublin derby of the evening. Shelbourne, still top of the table despite a wobble in the past fortnight, face a St Patrick's Athletic side struggling to replicate their form of last season.
Unbeaten until recently, Shels suffered successive defeats at home to Bohemians and away to Galway United, before digging in for a well-earned point at home to Shamrock Rovers on Monday.
The Hoops, with a game in hand on Shels and a superior goal difference, are at home to Galway United. It was in a televised encounter in Eamonn Deacy Park that Stephen Bradley's side secured their first win of the season after their now obligatory sluggish start. Johnny Kenny scored the game's only goal in the final 10 minutes.
Derry City recovered from their humbling against Shamrock Rovers on a controversial night in the Brandywell last Friday to dispatch St Pat's on Monday. They're in the RSC tonight to face Keith Long's Waterford, who sit eighth.
Drogheda United, still with only one win to their name despite a string of credible performances, are at home to Sligo Rovers, whose form has stuttered in recent weeks.
Shelbourne v St Patrick's Athletic, Tolka Park, 7.45pm
Damien Duff provoked plenty of debate with his trenchant criticism of "crowd favourite" Shane Farrell in the aftermath of the goalless draw against Shamrock Rovers.
In the wake of Farrell's second-half red card, Duff refused to keep his critique in-house and took aim at the winger's lifestyle, including his fondness for chicken fillet rolls.
Several observers wondered whether such withering public comments would backfire but Duff insists that he and the player have moved on.
"Shane is one of our own. This is his club. He needs us and we need him. I spoke to Shane, he apologised for getting sent off. That's it done, we move on.
"Everything will be given to him on and off the pitch as always. I will continue to wait for Shane to get fit and show his wonderful ability.
"I will also continue to dedicate my life to Shane and the rest of the players. They are my family."
The Shels boss - who confirmed that Matty Smith and Mark Coyle were available and that Shane Griffin was their only injury concern - was enthused by the performance in the goaless draw against the champions.
"First and foremost, before you look for points, it's always about performance. More often than not, when we get that performance, we get a win. It’s about playing with a real energy and edge. We had that on Monday.
"There will be dips, highs, and lows across a long season. When you get knocked down, experience a low, we acknowledge it and we get on with it. We still dropped two points, so it’s important we get back to our best and winning ways now tomorrow."
Dundalk v Bohemians, Oriel Park, 7.45pm
Dundalk may be in the midst of their worst league start for close to a century but at least their defence is functioning at a reasonable level. The Oriel Park crowd has gone more than 270 minutes without seeing a goal - at either end.
New boss Noel King, a leftfield appointment, stressed that it wasn't "a given" that Dundalk would escape the relegation mire, despite their illustrious recent history.
"It'll be a tough game but every game in this league is tough at the minute," King says.
"People can say anything, that Dundalk are a great team who’ll play their way out of it, but it’s difficult when you’re bottom of the league. We're adrift at the minute and certain things can get into people’s heads that can be a problem. It’s not a given that we’ll just escape and I think that’s why a change has been made and that's why I'm here.
"I've watched the last couple of games and the team played quite well, especially in Sligo last week. There's a certain confidence in the group and there seems to be good players in the group. We have 25 matches to play, there is a window still to come and a chance to get players in and out, so there is everything to play for, starting on Friday night."
The hosts have some injury concerns, with Mayowa Animasahun and Jamie Gullan picking up injuries against Sligo Rovers, while Robbie Mahon and Ciaran McGuckin will miss out.
The visitors, who won the corresponding fixture in Dalymount under a fortnight ago, could be without star man Jordan Flores, who is doubtful with a bug.
Flores was highlighted for particular praise by his manager this week.
"I don't want to single out people as I think they have all been really good but Jordan as captain has been outstanding," Bohs boss Alan Reynolds said.
"He has turned into a real leader, which I am delighted with. You can see now that he is getting to an age where he is taking on a lot of responsibility within the group.
"When you look at the likes of Jordan and James Akintunde, they aren’t young lads. They have been around and that experience has been very important to us over the past number of weeks.
"There is a good mixture of young and senior players. I was told when I came in that the dressing room was good, with the likes of Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall, and that has proved to be the case. But with them being out, lads have stepped up and are running it on the pitch."
Bohs have won three on the bounce, a run commencing with the 2-1 north Dublin derby win over Shels, and Reynolds is anxious they maintain that momentum.
"We keep our players grounded. We know we still have loads to do.
"We compliment them on how well they have done but we are pushing them to improve standards, which is something you will hear from me on repeat, because we can never ease off."
Shamrock Rovers v Galway United, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm
Stephen Bradley pronounced himself satisfied with their four-point haul from the away games against chief rivals Derry City and Shelbourne, even if he had some choice words about the playing surface in Tolka on Monday night.
The champions had a chance to go top there and then, with a game in hand, had they collected the win in Drumcondra, though Bradley felt the pitch stymied both teams.
"To be honest, the pitch killed the game in terms of it wasn't a really good game and there wasn’t a lot of quality on show. That’s not down to the players to be fair and I don’t know what it looked like from afar, but the pitch was awful.
"They put tons of sand on it during the week, it was extremely heavy, players couldn’t move, the ball wouldn’t move and it was bouncing up off the sand. So the pitch really killed it as a spectacle."
The side are heavily depleted for the visit of Galway United, with seven players ruled out.
Gary O'Neill added to Shamrock Rovers' already extensive injury list, with Bradley saying the midfielder would be out for well over for a month. Though, he is hopeful their other absentees are soon to return.
"Markus (Poom) isn't too bad, he should be OK for Monday’s game. Gary unfortunately will be six to eight weeks, he got a bang on the knee and quad, but it’s a quad injury that will keep him out.
"Graham (Burke), Jack (Byrne) and Seán Hoare we’re looking at this day next week to be back in the group all being well.
"Lee (Grace) is in London at the moment and we’re waiting on feedback from the specialist. Neil (Farrugia) is doing really well and we’re also hoping next week he’ll be back involved. Aaron (McEneff) will be another two or three weeks, but again, we’re getting there."
Galway United have kept three successive clean sheets since losing to Bohemians on 1 April, and they turned over the league leaders Shelbourne last Friday.
Bradley is wary of the particular threats posted by John Caulfield's side.
"You have to respect what they do and they do it really well. That's no surprise when you have John and Ollie (Horgan) there.
"They’re dangerous in transition, dangerous at set-plays, you see with their results they can cause any team problems."
Waterford FC v Derry City, RSC, 7.45pm
Derry's loss to Shamrock Rovers in the televised game last Friday night generated a furious reaction from the home fans.
That was quite aside from the behaviour of masked youths outside the ground, who scaled the walls and lobbed missiles at the celebrating away supporters. The club accepted a fine and a 'partial stadium closure' for their next home game against Shelbourne on 6 May.
They're on the road tonight, having re-gathered themselves with an impressive 3-1 win over St Patrick's Athletic on Monday. With Patrick Hoban returning to the side, assistant manager Paul Hegarty is in bullish mood ahead of their long journey to the south-east.
"We look like we are going to score goals and everyone gets confidence out of that. There is a belief in the squad that we will create chances.
"Danny (Mullen) has been excellent in the last few games and has added a new dimension. With Pat coming back as well, they are a real threat no matter who they play against."
Waterford have shown a fine burst of form in recent weeks, collecting five points from three games, highlighted by a 1-0 win away in Dalymount, Keith Long getting one over his old club.
They are without a home win since beating St Pat's in early March and Long is eager to change that.
"They (Derry City) beat us already up in the Brandywell this year back in March," said the Waterford boss.
"But we're at home, and in reasonable form, we want to try and build on the performances so far – turn draws into wins – and there’s no better place to start doing that than in the RSC."
The home side will be without Kacper Skwierczynski (hip injury), while Connor Evans and Maleace Asamoah are also doubts.
Drogheda United v Sligo Rovers, Weavers Park, 7.45pm
Sligo are without a win in five games and have fallen from second to seventh spot in the process, drawing at home to both Dundalk and Galway United last week.
Manager John Russell was inclined to bemoan refereeing decisions, feeling his side should have had penalties on both nights.
"I was pleased with how we played even though we only managed two draws last weekend," he said.
"You can see the players are starting to make good connections on the pitch which was evident in the build up to Fabrice Hartmann's wonder strike against Dundalk.
"I felt we deserved a penalty in each of the games which was frustrating. I'm hoping these decisions balance themselves out over the course of the season."
Away to a Drogheda United side who have drawn their fair share of games themselves, Sligo are missing defensive pair John Mahon and Nando Pijnaker, the latter still to recover from the whiplash injury incurred in an accidental collision with his own keeper Ed McGinty in the 3-0 loss to St Pat's in Inchicore.
Winger Simon Power is also ruled out for the trip to Drogheda after picking up a knock in the goalless draw against Galway.
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