As the club prepares for one of the biggest nights in its history, manager Stephen Kenny will be hoping to deliver European group-stage football for St Pats.
Pats travel to Turkey to face Istanbul Basaksehir in the Conference League playoff second leg, having held their rivals to an impressive 0-0 draw in Thursday's first leg.
Should they progress, it will ensure two Irish teams in the league phase of European football for the first time ever, with Shamrock Rovers guaranteed at least Conference League football.
It is a historic prospect, with St Pats standing on the verge of their first-ever progression to a European group stage.
Former Ireland boss Stephen Kenny took over at Richmond Park earlier this summer, in his first role since exiting as boss of the Boys in Green.
Though their domestic form has continued to fluctuate, Pats' European progression is certainly an impressive feat early on in Kenny's reign.
However, Kenny revealed ahead of tonight's game that he had some intriguing offers from abroad - including one from the Middle East - before landing in Inchicore.
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Stephen Kenny claims he was offered job in Iran before taking St. Pats role
22 August 2024; St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny before the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off first leg match between St Patrick's Athletic and Istanbul Basaksehir at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Speaking to Sean O'Connor of the Irish Independent ahead of Wednesday night's playoff, Stephen Kenny said that he had struggled to wrap his head around the idea of returning to the League of Ireland after his departure as Ireland boss.
The former Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City and Dundalk boss also revealed that he had received an intriguing offer from a huge club in Iran before accepting the job at Richmond Park.
I didn’t think I was going to come back managing in the league, in my own head. Psychologically, it took me a little bit of . . . to adapt to the idea of that. There were a lot of different circumstances that led to it, some personal.
I had options in different countries at different times, including Iran, [I had] a serious offer to manage a major club in Iran, a club who get 70,000-80,000 people at their matches. So I had options, but this isn’t a personal one for me.
Only three clubs in the first division of Iranian football have stadium capacities of over 70,000. Sepahan play in the 75,000-seater Naghsh-e-Jahan stadium, while Tehran clubs Persepolis and Esteghlal share a 78,000-seater stadium.
Persepolis - the most successful club in Iranian League history - hired a new manager in late June after a six-month search, just a month after Kenny was appointed St Pats boss.
It certainly would have been an unexpected move for Stephen Kenny. Time will tell how his reign at Richmond Park will end but, should he deliver European group-stage football, fans will certainly be happy he plumped for Inchicore over Tehran.
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