PRE-SEASON: FILIPPO Q&A

Fifty-three days after the 2020 season ended with a six-goal thriller against Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League group stages, Dundalk will begin their preparations for the upcoming campaign with pre-season training at Oriel Park.DFC: Filippo, you arrived back in Ireland last week ahead of pre-season training. How does it feel to be back in Dundalk? DFC: You went back to Italy after the Arsenal game in December but you were busy over Christmas and the New Year with players coming and going. DFC: You say you are working hard to complete the squad. How many more players would you like to see arrive before the season gets underway? DFC: You took the job midway through last year. Are you happy going into this season that you have assembled a squad with your own stamp on it? DFC: You’ve gone outside of Ireland to recruit players. What was your thinking behind that? DFC: You’ve signed two current internationals in Raivis Jurkovskis and Sonni Nattestad, which is something this club has never really done before... DFC: You mentioned earlier that you watched a lot of eastern European teams. Was it a conscious decision to bring in players from places like Norway, the Faroe Islands, Latvia, and Scotland - countries that are similar to Ireland - in the hope that they will settle a lot quicker? DFC: Sam Stanton has also arrived in the past week. What can we expect from him? DFC: Alex Rando, a young goalkeeper from America, will also take part in pre-season training. What can you tell us about him? DFC: The fixtures are published on Monday, February 1st. I think everyone really wants to see a 36-game league season get underway on March 19th. DFC: Finally, are you looking forward to getting back out on the training pitch on Monday?