Derry City captain Patrick McEleney has a 'skip' in his step

Derry City captain Patrick McEleney is in line to hit another major career milestone tonight when Derry City take on Tobol Kostanay in the Europa Conference League third qualifying round.

Should the Candystripes captain feature in the second leg game at Tallaght it will be his 50th European game, encompassing both his time with Dundalk and Derry City.

And his hometown club will need every ounce of that experience this evening as they look to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against the Kazakhstan outfit. McEleney is in no doubt, however, of the progress that has been made by League of Ireland clubs in showing that they can compete on the European stage, and he expects no different tonight.

“I can only help with what I’ve seen through the years. I’ve already been thinking on things to say for Thursday. I’ve been there on big return legs where you have to do the business and what’s needed. I’m really looking forward to it. These nights don’t come around often. It’s going to be a great night,” explained McEleney.

“Me being at Dundalk at that stage and looking at Shamrock Rovers more recently, it’s flipped that on its head. We’re able to compete, there’s no doubt about it. If you look at our campaign over the last few ties, we’ve been really good so long may it continue.

He added: “We need to get out and start on the front foot and get the big crowd behind us and make it a proper game. The players are really looking forward to it. We’ve trained well, we obviously played well against Drogheda so we’ll be ready to go.”

Candystripes boss Ruaidhrí Higgins was also full of praise for his skipper ahead of what could be a very special night for him, and his hometown club.

“He’s had an amazing career and he’s still got plenty of time left. I played with him in the very early stages of his career, I coached him at Dundalk and I’m his manager now, so I’ve been through it all with him and, for me, over the last 15 or 20 years, he’s in the very top echelon of players who have played in the League of Ireland,” insisted Higgins. “I know he’s been carrying a wee bit of an issue and we’ve only been able to spring him from the bench in the second half of games but it’s the impact he’s having on this team on and off the pitch.

“All people see is a match night but what they don’t see if what he does in the dressing room on a daily basis behind the scenes. His conversations with myself and how hungry he is to win.

“He’s got an unbelievable appetite for winning and it spreads through this group. He’s had a huge impact on our dressing room.”

BIG GAMES, BIG MOMENTS

The big games are coming thick and fast for the Candystripes at the moment, with last week’s first leg tie followed by a crucial league win on Sunday.

Following tonight’s game there will be no time for celebration or commiserations as City head straight into preparation for an FAI Cup game with St Patrick’s Athletic - three massive encounters in three competitions in the space of a week.

Fats' 50th European Appearance 5️⃣0️⃣

City captain Patrick McEleney was presented with a special signed shirt by the squad this evening ahead of tomorrow's game where he's due to make his 50th appearance in European competitions. pic.twitter.com/HqLhC5n2XS

— Derry City FC (@derrycityfc) August 16, 2023

For McEleney, it’s exactly where you want to be and he encouraged the red and white supporters to get behind their side.

“It’s a good problem. The players embrace it and I’ve been through it a few times in my career where it’s back-to-back, but you’d rather be playing games than training – that’s how I see it,” he explained. “We’re all excited by it. Thursday’s a big game, Sunday’s a big game, and there’s a big game after that. It means we’re doing our jobs right.

“I think on the fan side of it they need to be right behind us in every tackle, every block, every pass. I think on these big nights you’re going to need everyone, but we have to perform and do our jobs.”

The Derry City staff and players will be well aware of the extensive travelling their opponents will have faced to make it to Dublin, given the 26 hours they themselves spent on a plane last week, but McEleney isn’t banking on it affected the Tobol outfit too much.

“It wasn’t easy, there’s no secret to it – it’s taxing. I thought we did really well. Our group’s really low maintenance and we just get on with the job. I can’t speak for them and how they’re going to react to it, but I thought we reacted brilliantly.

“They have their own qualities and you have to respect it because the second that you don’t you’re going to get picked off at this level. We’re at home and we’ll be setting out to win the game.

“You can’t get away from how good these teams are for a second or you’ll get killed.”

It’s an amazing time to be a Derry City fan at the minute and McEleney admitted he wants the fairytale to keep going for a club that holds a special place in his heart.

“Me and Michael Duffy would have spoken about it when we were coming back – how special it would be to do things, get through rounds in Europe and things like that,” said the Shantallow native. “It’s unbelievable, the fans waiting at the airport and that sort of stuff. We don’t want it to stop really.

“Teams have gotten to group stages in previous years but to go through the four rounds, people would have said its basically impossible. We just don’t want it to end really.”