Wexford Youths manager Shane Keegan has hit out at the way fixture re-scheduling in the League of Ireland Premier Division this season has impacted on his club and Finn Harps.
With leaders Dundalk, in particular, amassing many European fixtures this season, many gamess have been rescheduled and speaking to Richie McCormack and Daniel Kelly from Newstalk's Airtricity League Podcast, he feels it's Wexford and Finn Harps that are bearing the brunt of changes.
"It's been crazy. I've highlighted it on a couple of occasions. I don't think it's any coincidence or surprise that it seems to be ourselves and Finn Harps that seem to be the two that get messed around most and seem to get punished because other teams are in Europe," he said.
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"You have no problem accommodating teams that are in Europe and we're all taking great joy from seeing what Dundalk are doing and see a couple of the other clubs progress through a round or two earlier in the summer.
Lee Chin
"But the way ourselves and Finn Harps are being treated on the back of it is insane. It has to be one of the only leagues in Europe where a team has been told six days before they play a game that their game is being called off so that somebody else can play them instead."
However, overall this season, Keegan feels their current league position of 11th is more or less where he expected the team to be in their debut season in the Premier Division.
"We are there or thereabouts, if not slightly better than where many people thought we would have been before the season kicked off. We always knew we were always going to be around this end of the table," he said.
"With five games to go, we're trying to keep Longford at bay and still very much of the belief that we could possibly even catch Finn Harps, so very positive around our place, believe it or not, despite the position we're in."
He also believes Wexford would be able to carry on the wisdom gained in their Premier Division debut if they can survive and play at the highest level next season.
The club was also in the spotlight when Wexford GAA player Lee Chin signed until the end of this season and has already lined out at centre-back.
"He's been great to have around the place. With every training session, you can see him getting that bit sharper particularly in relation to positional sense and decision-making," he said.
He also said that he was "very disappointed" to lose the five players who will make the move to New Zealand.
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