Byrne boost for Hoops as Bradley talks up Breidablik

Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley feels his side are even better-equipped for European competitions this year as he delivered a positive outlook on Jack Byrne ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League opener with Breidablik.

The Hoops qualified for the group stages of the Conference League last year by ways of victories over Maltese side Hibernians and Macedonian outfit Shkupi.

The three in-a-row league winners have the best chance of all Irish teams when it comes to reaching the outright competitions due to their champions route, as victory in the first round of the Champions League gives them two more opportunities to qualify in the second and third-tier tournaments.

By the end of their Conference group, Bradley was rotating his team to an extent where weaker selections were being used in Europe in order to prioritse retaining their league crown.

He feels they can challenge on all fronts throughout 2023.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport: "We work so hard to be successful domestically so we can put ourselves in opportunities like we have on Tuesday night. We all want to go and show we're a really good team in Europe. We did okay last year but we want to improve on that and try to be better. It's difficult, we know that, but that is the aim; we want to be better than we were last year.

"Last year there was a mixture of a lot of things that hurt us in the group stages. The availability of players was a big one.

"We had a really small squad to work from in the end. We had to try to balance that with the league. This year I think the squad is in a better place. We have players back from injury now. I think we're better equipped to fight on all fronts."

The short-term outlook is certainly good for the Tallaght side.

Lee Grace, Alan Mannus