Dundalk coach Shane Keegan has admitted that a rescheduling of this weekend's clash league clash with Shamrock Rovers would greatly aid their attempts to reach the Europa League group stages.
Less than one hour after returning to his home after an overnight flight from Moldova, Shane Keegan was in a celebratory mood on Friday's OTB AM as Dundalk put themselves within one game of the Europa League group stages.
Triumphant in a penalty shoot-out against Sheriff Tiraspol last night, they will now play Ki Klaksvik of the Faroe Islands on Thursday night in the Aviva Stadium.
A short turnaround in and of itself, there is the added complication for Dundalk of a game against League of Ireland leaders Shamrock Rovers on Sunday evening.
"There's no doubt we'd love to have the game pulled," admitted Keegan, "absolutely no doubt at all. Whether that can be achieved or not, I'm not 100% sure.
"It would be brilliant to think that the league, or even Shamrock Rovers themselves and I know of the serious rivalry there, if there was a bit of grace given."
After last night's victory, Keegan suggested that the league schedule had likely been put in place with the idea that Irish involvement in European competition may have been at an end for the season.
However, with Dundalk's involvement in the Europa League group stages a potential positive for the League of Ireland itself, he believes that it may be in the best interests of all if the club could prepare for Thursday's game unencumbered by league commitments.
"When you think about the amount of travelling we did," he explained, "there's absolutely no way that those who went through what they went through last night can't feature [at the weekend].
"If the game goes ahead as it is at the moment, there's going to have to be a hell-of-a-lot of changes to be made, that's for sure.
"I don't know if you're really supposed to say this, but it looks like Shamrock Rovers [have the league] in the bag and we have to realise where our priorities are and work accordingly."
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