St Pat's ace Zack Elbouzedi eager to pile more misery on Dundalk
Dundalk are going through a tough time on and off the pitch and host St Pat's at Oriel Park on Thursday night (7.45pm)
There has been no love lost between these two of late but Dundalk’s concerns have suddenly spiralled to new heights.
Two weeks ago, Dundalk owner Brian Ainscough slated the FAI for postponing this fixture at short notice to allow St Pat’s the best preparation for their European playoff.
Today, he is understood to be considering his position as club owner just nine months after jumping ship at Kerry FC to take control.
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The Boston-based businessman is believed to be open to offers after a challenging season that sees Dundalk bottom of the table and on their third permanent manager.
None of which will concern St Pat’s tonight who have their own objectives after setting their sights on a return to Europe next season.
That won’t be straightforward as the Saints are seventh in the table and eight points adrift of the European places.
But Zack Elbouzedi insists it is a realistic goal after seeing off Drogheda United 4-1 last Sunday after exiting the Europa Conference League.
Winger Elbouzedi - who played under Stephen Kenny in the Ireland Under-21 team - feels their run to the European playoffs has helped focus minds.
He only signed for the club at the start of that summer adventure but is targeting a strong finish to the season with Europe still on his mind.
Heading for Oriel Park tonight, Elbouzedi said: “We said before the Drogheda game that we wanted it to be the start of a run now.
“We believe we can still achieve something this season. We're looking up rather than looking down and that was the start of it tonight, that was our mentality
“The aim has to be trying to get into Europe and we believe we can get it. Everyone is taking points off each other.
“Our aspiration is to go on a run now and if we go on a run like we believe we can do there is no reason why we can't get into Europe again.
“We had a good taste of it this year and we want to experience that again next year.”
Considering he only signed in July, Elbouzedi stopped short of assessing St Pat’s stuttering season under the current Dundalk boss Jon Daly and now Kenny.
But he feels the value of that European playoff run should not be overlooked as the Saints go all out for a top three finish.
“I loved it to be honest. It brought us closer as a group,” he said. “We had one day off in the whole month so we were together every day.
“When you go away and travel with teams, you see other sides of people and grow closer to them.
“When you get that bond off the pitch it can only help you on the pitch and you can see that in the performances, that we're all together and going in the same direction.”
Dundalk are targeting a first win in eight weeks as their bid to beat the drop becomes increasingly more desperate.
But Daly said: “I still believe that we can win eight games. We haven’t won two games back to back all season but I still think we can when I look at the league and our team.
“But they have to take it by the scruff of the neck and they have to realise that it’s not just going to happen for them, they need to actually step up and make things happen.”
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