Ger Mc Nally writes whisper it quietly but St. Patrick’s Athletic are reawakening and they are ready to become force in Irish football again.

In the space of just six months, John McDonnell has turned Pat’s from side flirting with relegation to a side that has taken on and matched the very best sides in Ireland.

With just one game left in the opening round of fixtures, Pat’s have lost just once – and even that was to an 87th minute goal from Drogheda. Shels were extremely fortunate to leave Richmond Park with a point after finding themselves two goals behind early on while league champions Cork were defeated – and comprehensively outplayed in the recent clash between the two sides. Even Derry, who had been in a great run of form themselves, were counting their blessings after leaving Inchicore with a draw after Pat’s twice hit the woodwork and saw a late effort cleared off the line.

So just how has McDonnell turned around a side that was staring relegation in the face last season? Simply put, it’s down to hard work. While they possess wonderfully skilful players such as Sean O’Connor and Michael Foley, Pat’s as a team are prepared to work terricfically hard all over the pitch. They don’t allow their opponents any room to play. Just ask Joe Gamble or Pat McCourt – both anonymous in recent visits to Inchicore.

The midfield duo of Foley and Dave Mulcahy complement each magnificently. Mulcahy has a terrific work rate and the work that he does in front of the back four is vital to the way that Pat’s play. Beside him, Foley is no slouch in terms of workrate but he possesses a silky touch and wonderful vision to pick out a pass. He loves to get forward and will surely pop up with some vital goals before the end of the season.

At the back, Darragh Maguire is the proverbial rock. Drogheda’s Jason Gavin has deservedly got the plaudits this season but there aren’t many other centre halves playing in the country playing better than Maguire at the moment. Stephen Brennan is an excellent partner for Maguire while behind them, Barry Ryan is back in the form he was before his enforced absence from football.

I’ve deliberately left the front two until last because the irrespirable duo of Trevor Molloy and Paul Keegan have been simply superb this season. Seven league goals between the two only tells half the story of the impact they have had on the team. Keegan is the closest the Eircom League have to player like Teddy Sheringham and he seems to have found his perfect foil in Molloy.

As good as the rest of the team are playing, everything seems to revolve around Molloy. He is playing his best football for years, maybe even since his first spell at St. Pats. Everytime he takes to the pitch at the moment he looks like scoring and he has already given some very good defenders, nightmares this season.

Their good form is all the more remarkable as they have been without the likes of Mark Rutherford, Colm Foley and Stephen Caffrey amongst others for long periods. When these players come back, Pat’s could have a squad capable of lasting the season at the upper end of the table.

John McDonnell might prefer to play down expectations at the moment but if Pat’s can keep up their recent form then people might be shouting from the rooftops about their rebirth rather than just whispering it.

Next Fixture

vs SHELBOURNE

Date: May 15th (7:45pm)
Competition: League
Venue: Richmond Park
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Team	Pld	Pts
Shamrock Rovers	16	34
St Patrick's Athletic	16	31
Bohemian FC	16	25
Dundalk	16	22
Derry City	16	19
Drogheda United	15	19
Shelbourne	15	18
Galway United	15	17
Sligo Rovers	16	16
Waterford FC	15	6