Declan Devine welcomes Europa League clarity and 'prays' for League of Ireland return

The League of Ireland appears to be edging closer to an August return after the FAI's latest round of talks, with the financial package put forward by the association to assist clubs increased from €1.7m to €3.3m.

Devine is relieved to return to the training pitch this morning with a solid date to work towards as the Candy Stripes prepare for their August 27th Europa League first round qualifier.

And the City supremo is 'hopeful' the FAI can provide more concrete details about a league resumption over the next few days.

"I think they are going to give more concrete details over the next few days so we'll wait and see what happens," said Devine.

"In the meantime we will look forward to the European game. It's the first real positive bit of news we've had as we know now we have competitive football to come back to."

The proposed four team tournament involving the league's four European qualified teams has been scrapped and Devine stressed the importance of getting competitive games for his team prior to the club's European qualifier.

"I'm praying to God we get a bit of clarification in terms of what's happening with the league campaign. What you really need going into Europe is high level games. You need to be playing leading into that," he stressed.

"We'll be very focussed and very determined. Everyone is pulling to get the League of Ireland back and I'm like everyone else, waiting on news and hoping we've got a league to come back to.

"It would be fantastic if we had some news we would be playing competitive games leading into the European tie.

"The most important thing is to stay as positive as we can," he added. "It's brilliant news that we will play European competition. But the bigger picture now is trying to get our own domestic league up and running and getting the players focussed.

"Whatever happens it will be a relatively short season if things come back."

Indeed, it's understood there will be just 13 league games remaining in a reduced 18 match campaign should the Premier Division resume this season.

It's also believed that neutral venues and extensive pre-testing will not be necessary by August and Devine is hopeful there could even be supporters permitted into games given the progress being made.

"Nobody is saying there won't be any fans come the end of August," said the City manager. "Let's see where we are and what the climate will be in terms of health restrictions.

"You only have to see some of the gatherings that're happening elsewhere. The Premier League is back this week.

"A couple of weeks is a long time in football at the minute and things change very quickly. But the European news is the first positive bit of news we've had in a long time.

"We have to be grateful we're getting to play these games."