A look at Longford Town in 2024
Longford Town had a rollercoaster season in 2023 and showed flashes of moments that promised a run at the Play-Offs.
But with Stephen Henderson at the helm for a full year now, the experienced Manager will have a fuller understanding of his surroundings and will be looking to help get the Midlanders back into the hunt for the Play-Offs and promotion.
He does so with a mix of young players hungry with a point to prove and experienced senior players who know the Club inside out.
Henderson will be once more relying on Captain Shane Elworthy to help guide his young side up the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division table and with impressive performances from the likes of Kyle O’Connor in 2023 there is room for optimism.
There’s a mix of seasoned pros within the squad with Karl Chambers, Jack Brady, Adam Wixted and Bastien Hery among the Longford team and this can often lead to a good core of any team in the Division that can be successful.
The addition of Chris Lyons is the most notable capture in the off-season and the striker generally guarantees quality and goals anywhere he goes. His signing from rivals Bray Wanderers will be a new bow in Henderson’s set.
With Viktor Serdeniuk re-signed from last season too, Longford Town should have a midfielder to help build the squad around going into 2024.
Henderson will also hope goals can come in the form of Francis Campbell who has impressed since coming from Shelbourne’s Academy system.
The Midlanders are used to challenging in the Play-Offs and to being in the hunt for promotion so this will certainly be their main aim in the new season.
Henderson went into the job initially a little late into the pre-season and will be hoping 2024 with a full off-season can help build towards this.
Speaking last year, Henderson said: “At the start of it, it caught me cold to be honest with you. When you’re out of it, you’re out of it. I had my own little thing, working with brilliant young players and I was loving it. It came as a bit of a surprise to go back.”
No that’s fully in the Longford Town fold, success may be on the horizon.
Finish last season - 8th
Manager - Stephen Henderson
Key player - Chris Lyons
