McCabe drawn by Bray’s ambitious targets this season

BRAY Wanderers’ prodigal son Gary McCabe insists the Seagulls possess the firepower necessary to secure a place in Europe next season.

The Kilnamanagh man was on target for his new side in their impressive 2-1 victory over a St Patrick’s Athletic outfit that had hammered them 4-0 in the Leinster Senior Cup less than a month before.

It was Anthony Flood who got the visitors to Richmond Park off the mark in their 2017 Airtricity League opener on Friday night when he directed Dylan Connolly’s cross to the target before McCabe doubled their advan-tage with a fine effort.

And while Graham Kelly managed to pull one back for the homeside with five minutes remaining, they were unable to close to gap, the dismissal of Aidan Keena and Darren Dennehy certainly not helping their cause.

McCabe, who returned to Bray from Shamrock Rovers having spent two seasons with the Wicklow club between 2007 and 2009, believes Harry Kenny’s side certainly boasts the quality needed to finish among the top four in the Premier.

“Dylan Connolly is so quick down the left and Aaron Greene down the right” he pointed out.

“Anthony Flood who also scored on Friday will be a real threat this season and I was top scorer [with Shamrock Rovers] last season, so there’s definitely goals in this team.

“I’m realistic about it and I’m not going to sit here and say we’ll win the league, but we’ll be really pushing for one of those European spots. That’s our target this season.

“I wouldn’t have signed if we weren’t going to be aiming for Europe.

“I wouldn’t have come here to play for a manager who just is happy to keep us from getting relegated. Harry [Kenny] is ambitious and we’ll be targeting Europe” he insisted.

Explaining Bray’s dramatic improvement from their previous clash with St Pat’s earlier in the year, McCabe told The Echo. “That was a pre-season game and the manager only had one of his new signings for that.

“It was pre-season and the lads weren’t really up for it the way they were on Friday.

“The new players he has brought in and the ones he’s kept have bonded so much already and we’re playing well” he added.

And McCabe is calling on his team mates to maintain that level of form as they prepare for their next outing at home to Finn Harps in the Carlisle Grounds on Friday night.

“There was a real buzz in training after that win, but that’s gone now and it will mean nothing if we go out there and get beaten by Finn Harps” stressed the Tallaght man.