Daly not shirking importance of success in Europe

F91 Diddeleng v St Patrick’s Athletic 

Stade Jos Nosbaum, 6:30pm KO (Irish time) 

Jon Daly has only been in the St Pat’s hot seat for 12 games, but he is already thinking of how important tonight’s Europa Conference League first-round qualifier could be for his medium-term vision for the club.

The former Rangers striker was the assistant to Tim Clancy as the Saints took on NS Mura and CSKA Sofia in this competition last year, but is now preparing his in-form side to put together a similar European run starting against Luxembourg’s F91 Diddeleng.

A win in this round could bring in the region of €550,000 for the club. While that money is important, Daly is also conscious of the pull factor sustained European qualification can have when recruiting players in an ever-competitive market.

"It's obviously important in a financial sense for the club,” Daly said prior to his final training session at Diddeleng’s hill-top ground yesterday evening.

“It's important for being able to recruit the players we want. Players want to play in the biggest games and this is going to be a massive game. And we want more of that going forward."

With Diddeleng only starting pre-season at this stage of the year, the Saints can expect to be sharper out of the blocks. That said, there is always an element of pressure in Europe. That is made no easier for Daly given the unknown element to Diddeleng’s current derivative.

Former Shelbourne player Jamath Shoffner will be taking charge of the club for his first competitive game in management. And with recent footage hard to come by, the American’s style is practically unknown to the Saints backroom team, as are a lot of his new recruits.

While Diddeleng’s previous appearances in the Europa League