Tim Clancy is hoping that Joe Redmond is ready for battle as the Saints look to hit Derry City for six tomorrow night.
The centre-back and captain has been a standout performer all season and gained international recognition on the back of it.
He made his Ireland Under-21 debut in last week’s first-leg of the European Championship playoff with Israel, having been on the bench against Sweden in March.
And he played the entire 120-minutes of Tuesday’s away-leg in Tel Aviv, where Ireland agonisingly crashed out on penalties.
Redmond is now back in Dublin, preparing for tomorrow’s league clash with the Candystripes where the Saints are hoping to win a sixth league game in-a-row.
Clancy said: “Fatigue wise, playing 120-minutes in Israel is not ideal for us but he's a really fit fella and looks after himself. I don't think it should be an issue.
“He played two huge games for Ireland and is delighted with getting that opportunity. He’ll be on cloud nine coming back to us.”
St Pat’s handed the ex-Birmingham City defender a new and improved contract in May but Clancy expects interest in the 22-year-old to ramp up.
“I’ve no doubt there will be other clubs interested but we're trying to build and he's a major part of that,” said Clancy.
“He’s a brilliant age profile for us at 22, and he’s the captain. We want to get three, four or five (new players) in for next season that will strengthen the squad.”
Chris Forrester had been the St Pat’s skipper but Redmond was handed the armband after just a handful of games this season.
“I spoke to Chris about it,” explained Clancy, whose team are breathing down Dundalk’s neck in the race for third and who will target second if they win tomorrow.
“I asked him how much it meant to him to be the captain of St Pat’s and Chris really enjoyed it.
“But then I spoke to him about maybe giving it to one of the younger lads as you might get more out of them and put more demands on them to bring them on.
“Joe was the one I had in mind and Chris thought it was a great idea. Chris still has the impact where when he speaks to people they listen because of his stature.
“But we thought it would bring Joe a bit more out of his shell and I think it has.
“He was captain of Birmingham’s 23s as well from a young age and they won a couple of leagues so he has experience of it and I think it's just a natural progression.”
And quizzed on the Derry clash at Richmond Park, Clancy added: “It’s a huge game. We want to put right the fixture here earlier in the season when we were beaten 4-0.
“It was probably our lowest point of the season, but we're on a good bit of form since the break and we've won five on the bounce.”
