Hand ready for kick off with Longford 

Hand hopeful that Longford Town can improve in 2025 Sallins man Oisin Hand says he is enjoying life with Longford Town, and he is hopeful Longford can improve on their ninth placed finish, last season.

“We had a disappointing year last year. However, we have signed some really good players. We’re a young side, but there is plenty of talent in the group. It’s been a long pre-season, we just want to get going now”, said former Ireland underage international Hand.

Longford Town open their SSE Airtricity League First Division campaign at home to Bray Wanderers on Saturday night, and the Kildare native believes it is vital they get off to a positive start.

“I think it’s really important you get a win in your first game, and we didn’t do that last season. It sets you up for the season and lads get confidence off it. Bray are a really good side though, so it will be a difficult game. They are quite similar to us. They are quite a young side but have some really nice players. They try and get the ball down and play.” 

The centre half made 13 appearances for Wayne Groves’ side in 2024, but he hopes to build on this in 2025.

“I suppose the main aim for me this season is to stay fit and injury free. I’ve struggled with injuries in the past few years, so it would be great to get a full season without one. As a team we are taking the games in blocks. We will evaluate it after our first round of fixtures and see how we are doing,” he said.

The 22-year-old says he is enjoying working under Groves, who took over as Longford manager last May, following the departure of Stephen Henderson.

“Stephen would’ve signed me a few years ago and brought me to Longford. Wayne was part of Stephen’s coaching staff, so I obviously would have known Wayne and I’m really enjoying working under him.” Like many of his Longford teammates, Hand works a full-time job, while also playing League of Ireland football, which can be quite demanding.

“It can be difficult working full-time and playing League of Ireland. We start training at 4.30pm, but we train at St. Francis’ grounds in Dublin, which isn’t too far from where I live in Sallins. Most of our players live in Kildare or Dublin so it works.” 

Like many sports clubs in Ireland, Longford Town was recently affected by storm Éowyn. A wall at Bishopsgate Stadium behind one of the stands collapsed, due to the storm.

“It was definitely disappointing to see that happen, but we were lucky, it could have been a lot worse. There’s a lot of great people at the club, who work extremely hard off the pitch,” said Hand, who is part of a strong Kildare contingent at the club. Clane's Dean O'Shea captains the team and Moone's Andy Spain has signed from Kerry. They start their season at home to Bray Wanderers on Saturday evening.