Roberto Lopes explains why Shamrock Rovers' prolonged season is 'good for business'
The Hoops will contest the Europa Conference League knockout stages in February
Roberto Lopes is about to break the 60-game barrier this season but he is not complaining as it is good for business.
The Shamrock Rovers captain made his 59th appearance of the campaign in Thursday’s landmark draw away to SK Rapid in Vienna.
That result has secured a first ever appearance in the knockout stages of a major European competition for a League of Ireland club.
READ MORE: Stephen Bradley says 'that's his problem' after row erupts with SK Rapid manager in Vienna
READ MORE: Shamrock Rovers earn priceless point with SK Rapid draw and target knockout stages in February
And it was all the more remarkable considering the Hoops - who started pre-season on December 18 last year - are now almost a month out of season.
They still have league phase games to come against Borac in Tallaght on December 12 and away to Premier League giants Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 19.
And Hoops boss Stephen Bradley is challenging his players to finish in the top 8 of the league phase and qualify for the last 16 automatically, rather than the playoff route.
But while the Rovers players will only get a small break after the Chelsea game before pre-season starts for 2025, Lopes isn’t cribbing.
Back in January, he was playing at AFCON for Cape Verde and belatedly slotted into the Hoops side after missing the first two league games of the season.
It has been relentless but Lopes said: “As I said to someone, it's like a business. If you're very busy, it's a good complaint.
“That's the goal as a footballer, you can't want to be successful and play these games and then give out when you're playing every three days or playing into December.
“That's part of it. It's a new experience, new ground for us and I'm really enjoying it. It's getting a rhythm and you'd like to stay in that flow as best as possible.”
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Rovers also have the mouthwatering prospect of a Dublin derby with arch rivals Bohemians at Aviva Stadium to prepare for on the opening weekend of next season.
And if they are in the Conference League playoffs, that Gypsies clash will be sandwiched in between both legs of the knockout round.
Lopes said of the Aviva Stadium game: “I think it's amazing, I really do, a great prospect but I haven't even had time to think about it.
“It will be a massive game and it’s a great decision. You can probably sell Dalymount over three or four times with the derbies that have been there in recent times.
“It'll be interesting to see the crowd we get for this and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to it.”
But while disappointed at how the league title bid played out, Lopes is relishing the quick-fire nature of the big occasions.
And he continued: “My goal is to hopefully feature in the next two games and that would bring me (over) 60 games which is the most I've played in a year.
“It's new territory for me which is exciting. It's stuff you dream of and I don't mean that in a fancy way, but it's where you strive to be.
“You want to be that club that's not just going to make up the numbers, you want to go to qualify for group stages and try and progress.
“That has to be the goal, to push the bar out there. You're never going to achieve it if you don't think about it or dream about it.”
Lopes added: “The games were coming thick and fast but with the new format in Europe, we were excited to try and attack this as best we could.
“We got a good draw where there were some opportunities to pick up points and we had a clean run at it.
“The lads are excited to show what we can do at this top level and that was an amazing result on Thursday.”
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