Darragh Maguire knows what it is like to line-out at Richmond Park, but having ended his eight-year association with St. Patrick's Athletic last winter the former Saints captain will tonight be wearing the green and white of Shamrock Rovers.

This evening's Dublin derby will see Maguire return to Richmond Park for the first time since leaving St. Pat's for Rovers last winter.

While the 32-year-old will always retain fond memories of his long stint in Inchicore, he will take no prisoners when he lines-out in the Hoops this evening.

And while his loyalty to Rovers is undeniable, Maguire does admit to finding it hard to sit back and watch St. Pat's go on their European adventure. The Saints defeated Olimps of Latvia 1-0 last week to make them red hot favourites to progress to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a tinge of sadness at not playing in those games this year", he said. "Every footballer in this country would give their right leg for Europe.

"I was a big part of getting them that second spot last season but circumstances change and times move on. Hopefully I'll get to play in Europe with Rovers some day."

Maguire has been playing in midfield for the last few weeks and he could be joined in the middle by Stephen Rice, who appears to have been given a route back into the Hoops first team.

The ex-Bohs midfielder has been frozen-out of the first team after reportedly falling-out with manager Pat Scully. However, Scully appears to have offered Rice a chance at redemption, saying “Stephen is fit and available. If I need him, he will play."

Meanwhile, St. Pat's midfielder Gary Dempsey has warned that his team need to keep focused on their league campaign despite their European matches.

The Saints endured a mid-season slump last season which ended-up costing them the league title. However, Dempsey, who is enjoying his first campaign with the Saints, believes that matches such as tonight's are needed to show that St. Pat's remain focused on the league.

"The middle part of the season last year, I wasn't here, but the lads said they let themselves down", said Dempsey. "We've already passed the points total we got las tseason for this third and we don't want to let things stop."