'People don't like change' - Devlin ready for new Bray chapter

The fixture lovingly titled 'El Dartico' will not return for the 2022 season as the two teams on the southside coastal line have now become one.

The new version of Bray Wanderers, with a changed crest to reflect Cabinteely's involvement, begin their First Division campaign at home to Cork City this evening.

For Pat Devlin, who spent the past four years managing Cabinteely for what turned out to be most of its existence as an independent League of Ireland club, it's a return to very familiar terrain.

The 68-year-old Devlin has been manager of Bray, on and off, for a cumulative total of 16 years since its arrival into the league in the mid-80s. He presided over its two greatest successes, the FAI Cup victories of 1990 and 1999.

Aside from the normal multitude of football-related headaches, the biggest question of the 2022 season is how the people of the region have reacted to the venture.

"I think, throughout my lifetime... a lot of people don't like change," Devlin told RTÉ Sport at the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland launch in Clarehall.

"People like ya, some people don't like ya. Some people like some players and don't like other players. I think, eventually, the results on the pitch will bring everyone together. I really genuinely feel everybody has embraced it.

"I think we've sold more season tickets this year than they've sold in recent years. So I think results will encourage people in.

"It's the way forward. It's definitely the way forward at the moment because it ain't going to change! So you either buy into it or you don't.

"If certain people don't want it, well they don't want it. Either they come along and support the club or they don't.

"We're ready for action, we're in and anyone who wants to be there is more than