When Tunde Owolabi joined St Pat’s from Finn Harps, he had no idea Saints were about to land Eoin Doyle as their marquee signing.
Presumably he would have started more than two games by now - with another eight appearances off the bench - had that formidable competition not arrived.
But rather than throw a strop, the striker is trying to meet the challenge head on as he prepares to face his old club tonight.
Doyle, 33, was a prolific scorer for a decade with a host of clubs in England and Scotland and was still a Bolton regular when the Saints swooped on January 7.
Owolabi, who became a Saint on Christmas Eve, said: “Obviously Pat's want to do something this year and you have to have competition for places.
“As a football player, it’ll make you better.
"Eoin Doyle has pedigree, he played Championship football and so many professional games in England.
“You've got to understand that he's coming here with big experience, big expectations and I just want to learn from him.
"I'm a striker, he's a striker and I feel the more I come in and speak to him, the more I can learn.”
Owolabi continued: “Yeah, as a player you want to play more but you have to wait for your opportunity and take it.
“Even though he's a very big player, he's been there and he's willing to help the younger lads, not just me, and that’s massive.”
Born in Nigeria but raised in Belgium until he moved to Manchester at 16 in pursuit of a football career, Owolabi smashed a hat-trick against St Pat’s for Harps last year.
“That's why St Pat’s eventually came in for me. But no, the lads (haven’t ribbed me about it), they’ve been respectful and know my quality.”
Owolabi was a prolific scorer in his own right at FC United of Manchester, bagging 35 goals in 41 appearances during the 2019/2020 season.
But a move to Scottish side Hamilton quickly turned sour and that’s when he pitched up at Harps in March last year in a bid to revive his career.
Owolabi, 26, said: “I had a tough six months in Scotland. Mentally, I wasn't enjoying football and I had the opportunity to come to Harps.
“I didn't know much about the league but it caught me by surprise as the standard was higher than I expected but I needed time to settle.
“Playing and staying in Donegal was a different life than what I’m used to. I lived in Manchester and it was city life.
“Going to Donegal, it was much quieter and it was also during lockdown so you couldn't do much - but that helped me to focus on my football.
“I’ll always be grateful to Harps because they have some very, very good people and I still have very good relationships with them.
“Ollie Horgan is very honest. I respect him and he respects me and I always tried as much as possible to give my best for him.
“Players want to play for him because he's very, very passionate and he always tries to push you and get you to the next level.”
Owolabi is there now, but he wasn’t banking on Doyle standing in his way.
Meanwhile, Ollie Horgan ripped into his Finn Harps players for playing ‘like an intermediate cup side’ in part of Monday’s defeat to Sligo Rovers.
And he warned that Harps won’t have any business staying in the Premier Division if they continue to play like that.
Ahead of tonight’s trip to St Pat’s, Horgan was scathing of the first-half performance in the 1-0 defeat to the Bit O’Red at Finn Park.
He told Highland Radio: “You can't play like that in a League of Ireland game - in any division - and expect to get something out of it.
“We were lethargic, we had no energy, no aggression and, for whatever reason, no confidence. In the second-half we were up and at it and were much more positive and created several chances.
“So in that second half, yes, we deserved to be in the Premier Division but in the first-half we didn't deserve to be in the Intermediate Cup!
“And I mean that because I've been there with Fanad United and I know what the standard is like.
“An intermediate side would have comfortably turned us over in that first-half. If you don't play the 90 minutes, you don't deserve anything out of it.”
Horgan has mounting concerns heading for Richmond Park tonight as Jose Carrillo was injured in Monday’s warm-up while Ryan Connolly was forced off in the first-half.
Skipper Dave Webster and fellow defender Conor Tourish missed that game which followed on from Friday’s heroic injury-time draw away to Bohemians with 10-men.
They have to be assessed but Horgan said: “We’ll be down bodies again. Monday was as poor as we’ve been in a half of football in many, many years. It was like a pre-season friendly.
“But to be fair, the same players took a cut off it in the second-half and we only fell narrowly in the end.
“But you can't get points - or a point - in a game the way we played in that first-half. It wasn't good enough and it’s not what we’re about or what we’re interested in.”
