St Pats priced out by Bray spending, says Buckley

Liam Buckley says St Patrick's Athletic were priced out of signing players by Bray's pre-season big spending.

Third-from-bottom St Pats take on third-placed Bray at Richmond Park on Friday, a match that will be shown live on eir sport 2 [kick-off 8.00pm Irish time], looking for three points to help ease their relegation worries.

The Seagulls signed Keith Buckley from Bohemians, Limerick FC's Aaron Greene, and Gary McCabe from Shamrock Rovers ahead of the new season, but Bray chairman Denis O'Connor resigned on Wednesday after the club got into financial difficulty following majority shareholder Gerry Mulvey's withdrawal of support.

Five players have since requested to have their contracts cancelled after failing to receive assurances that they would be honoured.

St Pats manager Buckley says Bray offered wages far in excess of what his board could offer, and skewed the whole League of Ireland transfer market.

"We spoke to a few of their players at the start of the season, but we just couldn't afford them, the offers that they got" he told eir sport.

"We just moved on, but it is disappointing now, with all the media coverage that is going on.

"At this moment in time, nobody knows where the whole thing is at. Are the players on the transfer list, or not on the transfer list? Are they being paid, or not being paid?

"By all accounts, it may be sorted out by the end of the season." 

Bray midfielder Gary McCabe told the eir sport/Irish Independent LOI Weekly podcast this week that the players were trying to stay professional, even though they were unsure whether they would get paid from month to month, and Buckley was impressed by the spirit Harry Kenny's team showed during Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Cork.

"Those are their own issues, but it didn't reflect in their performance against Cork on Sunday, and I don't expect it to affect their performance against us on Friday," he continued.

See Des Curran's full interview with St Patrick's Athletic manager Liam Buckley ahead of Friday's coverage of the Pats v Bray Airtricity League Premier Division clash. Coverage starts on eir sport 2 at 7.30pm Irish time.

Image: Inpho/ Oisin Keniry

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