Derry City new signing Jacob Davenport expected to feature in Sligo as Brandywell men go for five in a row

The 25 year-old midfielder is eligible to make his debut against the Bit O'Red although Ruaidhrí Higgins expects the Englishman to be starting on the bench alongside striker Colm Whelan who made his welcome return from consecutive ACL injuries in last week's 5-1 demolition job on Drogheda.

“We have a good, healthy squad at the minute, obviously one or two absentees, but the squad won't change too much, I wouldn't imagine, between last Friday and this Thursday," said Higgins when asked about team news.

Michael Duffy wasn't risked against Drogheda as he continues to struggle with a knee injury but the winger is once again expected to be involved in the squad for the trip to the Showgrounds.

Davenport has been training with the first team since his arrival at the end of June and has featured in an in-house 11 versus 11 match but Higgins insists there's no rush to throw him into action.

“I would imagine he'll be on the bench," said the Derry boss. "You can see he's getting a wee bit sharper every day which is great and I'd like to think he'll make the squad on Thursday.”

With regards to Whelan's potential involvement, Higgins responded: "Well, we'll see. We’ll see how the game pans out. We have really good options in attacking areas and we're blessed now with real attacking quality and as I said we'll see how the game goes and what we feel we need at any point in the game, but again he'll be in the squad, all being well.”

Shelbourne, who travel to Drogheda tonight, remain two points ahead of Derry with a game in hand and Higgins knows a fifth straight victory will keep the heat on Damien Duff's men before the European fixtures next week and short hiatus in the league for those involved on the continent.

“It's a huge incentive and wins are really, really hard to come by in this league and, if we could go into Europe with five wins on the bounce, it would be great for everyone connected to the club.”

It hasn't been that straightforward, however, for Derry in recent months in Sligo having earned just two points from a possible 15 in their last five visits. They also haven't scored in their last four games at the venue but go into tonight's match having netted 12 goals in their last five league matches. And Higgins isn't bothered about previous results against John Russell's side.

“It's irrelevant really now. We're in a moment where we have good momentum, we're playing well, so what's happened over the previous three or four times down there is really not my concern, it's about what we can do on Thursday night and if we keep continuing to play the way that we're playing, then I've no doubt we'll win the game.

“The timing's good, even Ciarán Coll’s getting on his scoresheet," he laughed. "It's great for the group. Some players have got some big goals this year, brilliant for Daniel Kelly to get off the mark and you can actually see the weight off his shoulders this week, he trained brilliantly this week, looks really sharp and when he's in that mindset and when he's happy and scoring goals, we know what a handful he is, so hopefully that's a springboard for him to kick on.

"We've been inventive recently, we've found different ways to break opposition down and we're always trying to add wee strings to their bow, so hopefully that can continue. The players are happy and in good spirits and enjoying their football, so it's important that we don't get too carried away, that we understand why we've got results in recent weeks and we double down and keep continuing to do what we've done."

Meanwhile ex-Derry City winger Stephen Mallon is available for selection for the first time for Sligo Rovers tonight while Russell's side have no fresh injury concerns following last week’s win over champions Shamrock Rovers.

John Mahon and Conor Reynolds remain sidelined with respective Achilles and leg knocks.

Sligo are further boosted by the signing on a permanent basis of defender Ollie Denham who signed an 18 month deal following the completion of a loan spell from Cardiff City and goalkeeper Ed McGinty has committed himself to Sligo until the end of the season after his loan deal from Oxford was extended.

“It’s going to be another tough game against a team chasing league silverware”, manager Russell said. “We put on a really impressive show against Shams last week and that performance showed we can play with the best the league has to offer.

“There were chances at both ends in the first half, but second half we shut them out and took hold of the game thanks to two brilliant Simon Power goals.

“That game is done now. We move on to Thursday and another team at the top of the table. We have almost a full squad to choose from now and we hope to keep as injury free as possible.

“With a fully fit squad and everyone available to choose from, we’re a match for anyone. Derry have threats from all sides and we have seen that in recent weeks and in the games we’ve played them in this year.

“There’s a real feeling of positivity around the club at the moment and we’re looking to draw from that this Thursday.”