Bohemians boss Owen Heary has agreed to become the new manager of Sligo Rovers.

The Dubliner is set to leave his current post and succeed John Coleman who left The Showgrounds to return to England after his brief spell in the hotseat following the departure of Ian Baraclough.

Sligo decided to look to a homegrown option to fill this vacancy and they identified Gypsies supremo Heary as their preferred candidate. He will be handed a two year deal to revive the fortunes of his new employers.

Ireland U19 boss Paul Doolin and ex-Shamrock Rovers supremo Trevor Croly were also floated as potential options for the position.

Heary took over at cash-strapped Bohemians midway through last season, although he lacked the requisite coaching qualifications to take the job on a full-time basis until this year.

The Dalymount Park side sit in eighth place heading into their final game of the season against Derry this Friday, six points behind fifth-placed Sligo, who have performed below expectations.

Meanwhile, Dundalk midfielder Chris Shields has promised that last week's disappointment will not carry over into Friday's league decider with Cork City.

The long-term frontrunners go into the final game of the season one point behind the Leesiders after back-to-back draws against Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers opened the door for John Caulfield's side to take control.

Positive

Shields says that Stephen Kenny's charges are approaching their must-win game with a positive attitude.

"If you sit there and start thinking 'we've thrown it away', there's just no point," he says, "The mentality is get our head on, train right like we always have and get ourselves right.

"These are the big games you want to play in as a player, this is where big players stand out and play. If you're not excited about being involved in a game like this, then what are you doing in football?

"And it's still there for us. It's still in our hands."

Officials of Dundalk will today decide whether to install a temporary stand for Friday's match after all available tickets were sold out yesterday.

As it stands, Oriel Park is limited to a capacity of 3,761 for safety reasons, and providing additional seats would help to provide extra access for home supporters who have missed out.

The temporary structure could be put in place within a day, similar to the seating that the FAI put in place for the EA Sports Cup final with Shamrock Rovers at the same venue. However, Dundalk are looking at a bigger version of that stand.

Cork have been restricted to an away allocation of 700 tickets, although they requested more than double that amount.

Irish Independent