“Rovers should be looking to win the league” – Byrne
By Hayden Moore
SHAMROCK Rovers playmaker Jack Byrne has reiterated his desire to see the Hoops get their hands on the SSE Airtricity League title as they look to bridge a nine-year gap since the club last managed such a feat.
The Tallaght side were last crowned League of Ireland champions in 2011, but having, last season, ended a wait of 32 years for the FAI Cup, the squad will be hoping to now get their hands on the Premier Division crown.
Jack Byrne and Shamrock Rovers are setting their sights on the title
“I think at the start of every season Shamrock Rovers should be looking to win the league,” said Byrne, who was named 2019 PFAI Player of the Year.
“If they’re not, there’s something wrong at such a big club like Shamrock Rovers, so we’ll be going all out for it and doing all we can, so we’ll see what happens.”
Rovers should have no issue regarding motivation ahead of the start of the season, with a Dublin derby against bitter rivals Bohemians on the agenda this Saturday.
Losing seven out of eight successive games against the Gypsies, Rovers finally reversed their fortunes against the northsiders at the end of last season to claim a 1-0 win in the league before despatching them from the FAI Cup semi finals.
Coming into the 2020 season, Keith Long has been doing some serious business in the transfer window adding the likes of Glen McAuley, Dan Casey and Callum Thompson on loan from Wolves.
Although Bohs have added a plethora of new faces to their squad, perhaps the biggest achievements for Bradley and his management team in the off-season was hanging onto Jack Byrne and centre-half Lee Grace, who were both rumoured to be on their way to Hull City.
Defenders Rhys Marshall and Liam Scales have joined the club from Glenavon and UCD respectively with Byrne praising the confidence of the squad heading into the new season.
“It was very important [to keep the squad together] but it was also important to add,” said the 23-year-old.
“Look we’ve added two to [the squad], could have added more, but we do have a good squad and we’re confident with the players we have going into the new season” he insisted.
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