Jamie Lennon used to think it was a big deal playing in front of 1,000 people when he first signed for St Pat’s.
His first season as a pro was 2018 when the Saints finished 37-points off the pace in fifth.
The following year didn’t get much better with a 34-point deficit and another fifth placed finish.
And in the 18-game Covid-hit season in 2020, St Pat’s were sixth and 27-points off champions Shamrock Rovers.
Put simply, they were not the best of times for a club that had won the FAI Cup in 2014 and the league title the year before.
And certainly it was a far cry from today where the sold-out signs were regularly seen at Richmond Park last season.
And they are back up again for tonight’s league opener against Derry City with over 5,300 expected.
Lennon, 24, is the longest-serving player in the current Saints squad, although Chris Forrester has played more games but spread over two separate spells.
But Lennon knows the onus is on the St Pat's - eager to build on last year’s up and down fourth-placed finish - to plug into that fan-generated electricity coursing through the club.
Gearing up for the Candystripes clash tonight, the midfielder said: “It’s brilliant. In my first year we were struggling to get 1,000 at some games.
“I thought playing in front of a thousand people was unbelievable. It felt like 10,000 to me!
“As you get older, you see crowds growing. It’s a proper atmosphere and the ground will be rocking tonight.”
Lennon, working under his fourth manager in Inchicore, continued: “A lot of younger people are coming to games now but there weren't that many when I first played.
“You want to play in front of a sold-out stadium - you feel like a proper footballer.
“After games, you spend a lot of time signing autographs, doing photos and lads are happy to do it because it’s never been that way.”
This week, St Pat’s trained away from their Ballyoulster United base in Celbridge and used Richmond Park for some of the sessions.
Manager Tim Clancy wants his new signings to be as familiar as possible with their match-night surroundings ahead of this sold-out opener.
Jake Mulraney (Orlando City), Noah Lewis (Willem II), Tommy Lonergan (UCD), Vladislav Kreida (Flora Tallinn - loan), Conor Carty (Bolton - loan), Jay McGrath (Coventry- loan are the new men through the door.
And Lennon - who is also dipping his toe into management with AUL Saturday side Ely Woodlawn - said: “You can see the quality straight away.
“With players from Ireland on longer contracts in the league, it makes sense to look abroad and it’s good for the league to see different kinds of footballers.
“We back ourselves and we’ve good belief in the group. We want to do well.”
Saints boss Clancy is striving for consistency this season - and if he gets it, he is confident St Pat’s can be in the title shake-up.
Clancy said: “We want to improve on last year. Other people will have Derry as the favourites to challenge Rovers or beat them to it and rightly so.
“They won the FAI Cup and could have momentum. We have to be more consistent over the course of the year and if we are, we can put more points on the board than last season.”
