Shamrock Rovers will be aiming to kickstart their UEFA Conference League campaign on Thursday evening, with Stephen Bradley’s side hosting Slovenia’s Celje at Tallaght Stadium.

They are an opponent the League of Ireland club know well, having faced them in the Europa League qualifiers in 2024. Rovers would win that tie 3-2, overturning a 1-0 deficit from the first leg to get the job done in Tallaght after extra-time.

After that fixture, Bradley would accuse Celje manager Albert Riera of ‘complete arrogance’ for his suggestions that the Slovenian team were far superior to their opponents ahead of the second leg.

The pair are now set to clash once again, with last year’s comments not quickly forgotten.

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Ex Liverpool Star Takes Strange ‘Dictionary’ Pop At Rovers Boss Stephen Bradley

Former Liverpool player Albert Riera was asked about Stephen Bradley’s comments in 2024 ahead of Thursday’s game. The Spaniard would reject suggestions that he was an ‘arrogant’ figure, going on to mockingly suggest that the Irishman may need to look up the definition of an alternative word.

The line between arrogance and confidence is very thin. If you ask me, I would say that I am maybe too confident…but no arrogance.

And in the sport, during 90 minutes, I will not give you a hand. During 90 minutes, I will not give you any compliment.

I will not make you bigger or better. Or I will tell you that you are faster or stronger than me. This is how I understand this sport.

After the game, I can talk about many things. Maybe we sit to drink a coffee. Maybe people think differently about me.

He made a mistake saying that because he doesn’t know me. If you don’t know me, you cannot talk about me.

Maybe he needs to read in the dictionary what confidence means. And then he will understand that last season, maybe I was not arrogant. I was confident in my team.

But this is not a battle between two coaches. This is a game between Celje and Shamrock.

Shamrock Rovers will be aiming to produce a similar performance in this game, having come up short against Sporta Praha in their Conference League opener earlier this month.

Getting one over on Celje for a second successive season would only be an added bonus.

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