LAST UPDATE | 17 Jun

SHELBOURNE HAVE BEEN drawn with Linfield in the first round of Champions League qualifying.

Damien Duff’s League of Ireland champions will face their Irish League counterparts at home in Tolka Park for the first leg on 8/9 July.

The return will be at Windsor Park on 15/16 July.

In the UEFA Conference League, St Patrick’s Athletic will face Lithuanian side FC Hegelmann. Stephen Kenny’s side will be at home in the first leg. Shamrock Rovers will find out their opponents in the second qualifying round tomorrow.

For Shels, the prospect of this derby provides another element to a tie of such importance. “A brilliant day for everyone at the football club, especially for those who have been through the dark times. Players and staff watched the draw together and there is already a great buzz at the prospect of an All Ireland derby,” Duff said after the draw.

Speaking before it was made after his side’s 1-0 win over St Pat’s last night, Duff insisted his players must be ready for the demands European football brings.

“That’s where I guess you’d be wise as a management team, picking teams, having a squad. Yeah, there’s a window obviously coming up. Lets call a spade a spade, we will look to do business. I still think three games a week is loads. League of Ireland teams are like ‘ugh’ but we’re going to have to deal with it and lads are going to have to get their head around it.

“I dealt with it for 15, 16, 20 years but I still always have that. ‘I have to go again?’… yeah, you do. It’s your f**ing job and it’s the best days of your life, playing football. That’s up to lads looking after themselves, recovering, putting in the best account of themselves and us as a staff trying to be wise and pick the right team at the right time.

“It’s just a mentality thing. They’re there for a reason, the big teams all around Europe, yeah, they play on a Wednesday and they’re up for the game but they’re up for it again on the weekend. So listen, it’s absolutely alien, I get that, to our lads but it’s something that I’ll try to hammer home and it’s something that I’ve hammered at them or aimed at them for years gone by.

“It’s not the Europe thing. ‘Oh, Friday, we have to go again Monday. Oh, I’m tired’, You’re not tired. They’re all young boys. A lot of them still living at home with their mammies getting their washing done, their cooking done. You can sleep 20 hours a day if you want to. All I want to see you for is 90 minutes. So to be able to only attack mentally two games a week out of three isn’t an elite mindset for me. It’s attacking every game.”

From Duff’s perspective he also now has the added benefit of a full-time analyst to help with his team’s own preparation.

“This is where obviously Martin Doyle’s in now. He’s been a brilliant addition for three years and last year. I’ve been an analyst. I’ve been an analyst 90% of the time for three years, believe it or not, and 5% manager and 5% coach. This year we’ve got Martin in, which is a big help.” the manager said.

“Yeah, there’s an excitement in that as well. Last year, St Joseph’s trying to claw footage of them. The next game, Zurich, and you’re looking at footage and thinking, ‘are they that good? Are they that bad?’ Here you go and play them away, they’re that f***ing good, yeah. So there’ll be an element to that this year. Will I be able to go and watch them? I don’t know. Whoever we get. It’s just an excitement. So you can sleep when you’re dead, I guess.”