Professional football experience has taught Liam Buckley to stay grounded after Sligo Rovers’ sudden ascension to the top of the League of Ireland table.

But the seasoned Dubliner admits that the life experience of relocating west has given him a sense of the excitement that a successful Rovers team is capable of generating.

Monday night’s victory over Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght moves the Bit O’Red one point clear at the top of the table after 13 games. It’s an impressive rise for a team that was facing into a relegation battle in last year’s shortened season before a lockdown fundraising drive in the local community helped them to strengthen their squad and eventually put together a run that secured a European spot.

Buckley had added to that group over the winter and there’s now giddy talk about what can be achieved. Another morale-booster for the club is that local players are central to their success with Tallaght contributors John Mahon, Niall Morahan, Mark Byrne and John Kenny all coming through their underage set-up.

“To go top is great for the group and great for the community in Sligo,” says Buckley. “Living up there now and seeing the effort and time that they put into the club, and the committee of people who run the club and all that, it’s a great reward for them. I have no doubt they will be celebrating. We won’t be getting too excited but to be at the top end of it is great.

“There are quite a few local players coming through who are very talented and another few in underage who will probably come though in a year or two. We probably have half our group that have come through the academy which is great from that end.” of things.”

Buckley tasted league success with St Patrick’s Athletic in 1998 and 2013 and, while he has belief in his current dressing-room, he is conscious that any issues with injuries or suspensions would test their resources.

If they continue to challenge, he may go to the club in July to see if it would be possible to strengthen, especially with European football coming into the equation then.

“To be fair, they (the club) were great last year when we had our six injuries and we were struggling badly and we brought in one or two so we steadied the ship and then pushed on from there and got Europe.

“Now we’re at the top, but I’m happy with the group we have because they can all play and will all contribute.

“We’ll see if we do bring anyone in. It may be something we do bearing in mind with Europe.

“We’re at the top end of it and we want to stay that way. I know it will be difficult but as we said in the dressing-room, our ambition is to win matches and we’re competitive. We are just starting a process here. Individually we have some fantastic footballers, it’s just collectively we have to get better.”

The Bit O’Red will be top of the league going into the mid-season break if they can take three points from Friday’s visit to a much-improved Finn Harps side.