IT may be early days but tonight's top versus bottom clash by the seaside should give an accurate indication of which end of the table Bray and St Patrick's Athletic respectively will be fighting come the season's end.

While the Dubliners have started with three straight victories, the Wicklow men followed an encouraging scoreless draw against Cork with two defeats.

However, Saints' close season capture, Damien Lynch, says that he is under no illusions about the task at hand. Particularly after a chat with two Bray players who will be on the opposite side this evening. "I actually spoke to Alan Cawley and Gavin Whelan earlier this week and they said they've been a bit unlucky. They're just short a few goals at the moment," says Lynch.

"Bray have a lot of decent young players and while they can sometimes have an off night, if they play to their potential then it could be very difficult. We know it's not going to be easy."

It was a connection from 28-year-old Lynch's days as a young player that brought him to Inchicore at the end of last year, when his contract with Drogheda expired.

The Dubliner was frequently capped by Brian Kerr at underage level and the Pat's Director of Football moved quickly when he became aware the defender-cum-midfielder was looking for pastures new.

"Brian knew I was out of contract so I think he asked Johnny McDonnell if he was interested and it all happened from there really. I'd had a good three years at Drogheda -- a very successful three years -- but I had it in my head that it was time to go.

"Three years was a decent stint but I needed a new challenge.

"I was delighted to hear of the interest from St Pat's because it's a big club and one that's going to be challenging."

Yet despite wins against Sligo, Bohemians and Galway, Lynch is pleading for a bit of patience when it comes to assessing what may lie ahead for the Saints.

Having seen at first hand what it required to build a league-winning side with Drogheda, he's not expecting it to happen overnight with his new employers.

"Pat still had some players part time last year, so in a way they might have over-achieved to finish second. That was a very good result.

"There's been a lot of talk about expectations this year but it took Drogheda three years of being full time to win the league, so you have to understand that it takes a lot of work.

It's not a time now to be making wild statements about what we're going to do because it's still very, very early days. Certainly it's going well, the seven or eight new lads have fitted in well and Johnny has created a good atmosphere but there's a lot of work to do."

That involves the manager finding his best 11 and Lynch is aiming to make himself a part of that.

While he made his competitive Saints debut as a right back against Sligo, a touch of 'flu for Gary Dempsey pressed him into midfield alongside Keith Fahey for the derby win against Bohs.

As his partner in the engine room scored a remarkable long-range strike to win the game, Lynch acted as the foil to allow his former Drogheda team-mate roam.

The combination obviously worked in the eyes of the manager as it was retained for last week's less convincing victory over Galway.

"I like playing in there, I must admit," he says, "It's good to play with Keith, everyone knows the talent he has and the goal against Bohs was no fluke; you'd expect four or five from him like that in a season.

Next Fixture

Waterford / April 19th @ 7:45pm
Competition: League
Venue: Richmond Park
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Team	Pld	Pts
Shelbourne	10	21
Derry City	10	16
Shamrock Rovers	9	15
St Patrick's Athletic	10	14
Bohemian FC	9	13
Sligo Rovers	9	12
Waterford FC	10	12
Galway United FC	9	11
Drogheda United	9	8
Dundalk	9	4