PAT FENLON, the Shelbourne manager, has said that his team will be the underdogs when they take on Lille in the first leg of their Uefa Cup first-round tie at Lansdowne Road tonight. The Dublin club surprised many with their fine performances as they fought through two rounds of Champions League qualifiers again KR Reykjavik and Hajduk Split before losing to Deportivo La Coruña.
Lille, who are thirteenth in the French first division, while Shelbourne are top of Eircom League. However, Fenlon urged optimistic fans to be cautious. “The European games have put us on the map this year,” he said.
“People know about the Irish international team, but it’s nice that a league team has got some credit. We are coming out of a league that’s 70 per cent part-time, while their league has three representatives in the Champions League. We do fancy our chances over the two legs, but by no means are we favourites.”