'You can't wait 45 minutes to start playing' - Gartland on Cork

The league table does not lie; except, of course, if you are looking to judge it after the first weekend of action following the return of the League of Ireland season.

That's the verdict of former Drogheda United and Shamrock Rovers defender Graham Gartland, who believes that it will take the entire first round of games before this season’s league title challenge will start to take shape.

But in terms of the overall aesthetics of the new season, Gartland was happy to call it a roaring success with the "sold out" sign hung out outside several grounds over the weekend, while he believes that the League of Ireland is really becoming an attractive option for family entertainment.

"To judge teams off the back of one game is not something that I would do," said Gartland, speaking on this week's RTE Soccer Podcast.

"The league doesn’t settle down for a good ten games. You see where teams are with squads, with injuries and suspensions, and how they will handle the marathon that is the season.

"But in terms of the product and how it looked, with a sell out in Turner’s Cross, a sell out in Sligo and in Inchicore, this is brilliant.

"It’s a fantastic excitement and enthusiasm for the league, and this needs to be driven forward and improved to make it a comfortable place to go and watch a game of football, and somewhere you can bring your families and kids."

Bohemians, of course, were the only team to secure all three points from the opening weekend following a hard-fought away win at Turner’s Cross, and Gartland was impressed with what he saw from the Dublin side, playing under new manager Declan Devine.

The game from Leeside was live on RTE2 on Friday night, and while it was a packed house and a great occasion for the home side, having