Former Dundalk stalwart Stephen O’Donnell believes that there may be benefits to the sharp turnaround Dundalk have had to adapt to in their European football travails.
O'Donnell, who is the clubs current chief opposition analyst, told the club's website that the players have had little time to dwell on the defeat and elimination at the hands of Qarabag in Baku.
Barely had the goals of Jaime Romero and Ailton ensuring a Champions League exit, sunk in, and Dundalk were planning for another sojourn into Europe. This time in Bratislava, were reigning league champions SK Slovan Bratislava, await.
But O'Donnell does not see the quick turnaround as significantly detrimental to the preparation of The Lilywhites.
“I think everyone is in a positive frame of mind. With the quick turnaround no-one has time to reflect. Whatever happened on Wednesday we were onto new opposition this week, so the work starts straight away after the final whistle.
“It’s our job as staff to get the players as fully prepared as possible come Wednesday night. We got straight down to business and we’ve had a very good weekend. The boys are all in a positive frame of mind and are looking forward to Wednesday night.”
The Tehelne Stadium, which only opened in January, will play host to Dundalk and their hosts, who have settled in comfortably to the new surroundings.
The Lilywhites arrived in Bratislava On Monday and expect a tough experience against the current Slovak champions, who are three games into a new season, and unbeaten, only conceding one goal in their domestic games.
With a plethora of Slovakian internationals, as well as players from the Slovenian, Bulgarian and Nigerian national sides, this is a potentially stern test for Vinny Perth's side.
Wednesday's game kicks off at 18:00 on Wednesday, and will be shown live on Eir Sport.