Dundalk forward Patrick Hoban joined OTB’s Football Saturday to talk about the Europa League group stages and his two new Italian coaches.

Dundalk qualified for the Europa League group stages after a 3-1 victory over KÍ in the Aviva on Thursday.

This victory set them up for the Europa League draw on Friday, which saw them placed in the same group as Arsenal.

The success that Dundalk has experienced over the past couple of weeks has lead Dundalk owners, PEAK6 chief Bill Hulsizer to offer Italian coach Filippo Giovagnoli the job on a full-time basis.

Although the former interim coach has only been in the job for just over a month, Hoban thinks that he has earned the faith that Peak6 have put in him.

“Why not?” Hoban said when asked about the decision.

“Everything he has done since he has walked in the door, the two of them, [assistant coach] Giuseppe [Rossi] as well, has been phenomenal.

“The detail that they go into, the way that they set us up, even to build confidence in the team.”

The Italian duo came into the setup during a time when Dundalk’s performances had started to slip.

The team responded well to the inclusion of the new coaches, according to Hoban.

“We weren’t going through a good patch at all,” Hoban said.

“The lads have responded really well to them and they’ve been fantastic since they’ve come in.”

The main goal for Giovagnoli and Rossi coming into the side was to qualify for the Europa League group stages.

Now that the Lilywhiteshave have progressed to the group stages,, Hoban thinks that the Italian duo deserve to stay at the team.

“They’ve achieved what they wanted to achieve when they walked in the door, and that was to get into the Europa League group stages,” Hoban said.

“They’ve done that now with us, so I don’t see why not.”

1 October 2020; Dundalk interim head coach Filippo Giovagnoli and Dundalk assistant coach Giuseppe Rossi, right, celebrate following the UEFA Europa League Play-off match between Dundalk and Ki Klaksvik at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

A dream for Dundalk

This is only the second time that the Lilywhites have made it into the Europa League group stages.

The last time this happened was in 2016, where they were up against Zenit, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Although Dundalk only managed the solitary win over Tel-Aviv, Hoban always hoped to get to achieve what that side did.

“You’re up against the best of the best now,” Hoban said.

“I remember watching [the Dundalk team of 2016] and thinking, ‘I’d love to be involved in something like this.’

“For it to come true now is just a massive buzz.”

Patrick Hoban of Dundalk during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Dundalk and Waterford at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

This year the Town were drafted in Group B of the Europa League, alongside Arsenal, SK Rapid Wien, and Molde FK.

While there is definite balance in terms of opposition for the Town, the proposition of playing in the Emirates is something that Hoban is looking forward to.

“Playing against a Premier League opposition, I know everyone is buzzing about the glamour side,” Hoban said.

“It is against such a very good side and I’ll be looking forward to that one for sure.

“It would have been nice to get someone like Celtic, but we’ll take Arsenal and we’ll see where it takes us.”

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