FENLON NOT EXPECTING EASY RIDE

BOHEMIAN manager Pat Fenlon believes his side has one major advantage over Rhyl going into Saturday's Intertoto Cup first round first leg tie at Dalymount Park - match practice.
In an exclusive interview with Lilywhites Online, Fenlon told Dave Jones the fact his team is more than halfway through its domestic season while Rhyl have had just three warm-up friendlies could prove a big factor when the clubs meet in Dublin.
Fenlon, who is also the Republic of Ireland Under-23s manager, watched the Lilywhites give a woeful defensive performance in a 4-1 defeat against English Colleges on Tuesday.
"It's going to be hard for Rhyl," said the 39-year-old Dubliner, who has also managed Shelbourne and Derry City. "They've only just finished a long, hard season, had a short break, and will only have had a couple of warm-up games before they face us, whereas our season started in March.
"But we're expecting a tough game; Rhyl have had some good results in Europe and have some good players."
Fenlon, who took over as Bohs boss in December, has got off to a flyer as his team lead the Eircom League of Ireland Premier Division by three points with just one defeat in 14 matches and only seven goals conceded.
"We've made a great start; I've only been here six months and it's going well," he added. "We've got bigger priorities than the Intertoto, but we want to go as far as we can in the tournament. League of Ireland clubs have done well in Europe in recent years.
"I can see it being more of a local derby than a European game, looking at the way Rhyl play and the way we play. You always aim to win your home leg and ideally it would be nice to build up a couple of goals lead and not concede an away goal before travelling over here."
Bohs will have had a couple of weeks' break themselves before the Rhyl game, their last action a 3-0 victory over Drogheda Town in the FAI Cup a fortnight ago. "I gave the players a few days off but they're back in training now and looking forward to Saturday," said Fenlon.
The Gypsies' chief expressed his admiration for Rhyl's Craig Jones and the finishing prowess of Marc Lloyd Williams, and was also aware of the abilities of Lee Kendall, who did not play in the English Colleges match, but was seen by Fenlon in Rhyl's 1-0 victory at Distillery on June 7.
Bohs should be close to full strength for the visit of Rhyl although their gifted 20-year-old left-back Conor Powell is a doubt.
* ANYONE who was at Belle Vue on Tuesday night may have been familiar with the face of Pat Fenlon but what about the big fella with him?
The man in question was Fenlon's assistant Liam O'Brien who is a full Republic of Ireland international and played for Manchester United under Alex Ferguson between 1986-88 before being transferred to Newcastle United for £250,000 in November 1988.
O'Brien is now in his third spell at Bohemian and has won eight full Ireland caps.