Keena named Player of the Month

St Patrick’s Athletic striker Aidan Keena has been named the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Player of the Month for February.

The Mullingar native, who returned to Richmond Park last summer from Cheltenham, has been in a rich vein of form recently, scoring three goals in three matches in February and two more this month.

Expected to challenge for the Premier Division title this year, St Patrick’s Athletic are currently in fifth place, four points behind early-season surprise leaders Drogheda.

Keena says he is enjoying life back in Richmond Park, largely thanks to manager Stephen Kenny.

"It’s been great for me to be back working with someone like Stephen Kenny and he’s given me this opportunity. He has faith and belief in me and that in turn gives me confidence.

"You want to try and improve as a player every year and that's why I do that extra bit in training and, at this stage, I do it without thinking about it."

As for Pat's chances of winning the league, Keena believes that there are a lot of teams with the same aspiration.

"St Pat's have been spoken about as potential league champions but I think you could say that about a few clubs.

“There are no real bad teams in the Premier Division, and judging by the results so far, clubs have been up and down and it all makes for a very competitive league. Drogheda have been excellent so far but it’s hard to predict how things will pan out later on in the year.”