RTÉ Soccer Podcast: The root causes of the slow start to 2024 made by St Patrick's Athletic

While Shamrock Rovers have got off to a slow start in their defence of the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title, the Hoops got their first win of the campaign on Friday night after grinding out a 1-0 victory at Galway United, in front of the RTÉ cameras.

St Patrick's Athletic also got a 1-0 win at Eamonn Deacy Park but that was way back on the opening night and since then, only one other victory has been forthcoming for Jon Daly's reigning FAI Cup winners in the first six round of matches, that coming against a struggling Dundalk on 8 March.

A 2-1 defeat to high-flying Shelbourne at Richmond Park on Friday was the latest setback for the Saints who, along with Derry City, had come into the season tipped as one of the sides likely to push Shamrock Rovers closest.

Technically speaking they are level on points with Stephen Bradley's side, but the sense is that Rovers will push on and do what they have done during the recent four-in-a-row era.

Which will make it all the more frustrating for Pat's that they haven't made a strong start to put some early pressure on.

Two of the club's former midfielders, Conan Byrne and Keith Treacy, scrutinised the Saints' slow start on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, and one area that stood out was deepest midfielder Jamie Lennon having too many threats to cover by himself in front of the defensive line.

Byrne said: "Watching them over the last number of weeks, I think Jamie Lennon gets exposed as he can't do both - he can't stop the ball into the striker's feet, so let's say against Derry it was (Patrick) Hoban and on Friday it was Sean Boyd - and Matty Smith then is just so clever as a 10 that he can find pockets of space when Lennon is occupied and the other Pat's players in midfield are naive not