Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny has described John Caulfield’s comments about the signing of Georgie Kelly as "completely dishonest", while also accusing Stephen Bradley of "bravado and playing to the gallery."

In a busy week of transfer dealings as the window opened, Caulfield offered his take on Monday about the signing of Kelly from UCD and Patrick McEleney from Oldham Athletic, saying Cork could not compete with those deals.

The Cork boss said it was not possible for the league champions.

Caulfield said: "No, because the financial packages were huge. UCD got a serious transfer fee, because Georgie Kelly was a professional I believe. Patrick McEleney got a serious package because he was on big money in Oldham, and we believe some money changed hands. We're not in that market."

But Kenny fired back after last night’s win over St Patrick’s Athletic.

He told DundalkSport.ie: "John Caulfield put a statement out that we paid a massive fee for Georgie Kelly which is being completely dishonest and untrue.

"We didn’t pay any fee for Georgie. He’s a young player who has come in on a modest League of Ireland wage and wants to play here. We were going to take him at the start of the year but he had a duty to UCD to finish his scholarship and didn’t feel he could leave until the summer.

"He had his own personal agreement that he could leave on a free because of that and to try and put pressure on the lad like that is unnecessary and very disappointing. They’ve signed a ‘Premiership player’ (Damien Delaney) and we’ve signed a player from the First Division."

Bradley, meanwhile, questioned whether Dundalk paying a five-figure sum for McEleney was wise given he left the club as a free agent just months before.

The Hoops boss felt it would reflect poorly on the league as clubs watch on from England.

Kenny snapped back last night: "I didn’t understand Stephen Bradley’s argument.

"Shamrock Rovers sent a delegation to Oldham to sign Patrick and agreed a fee. Obviously, we had a dilemma. We wanted Patrick and Patrick only wanted to come here. He didn’t want to go to Shamrock Rovers. The dilemma was to let him go or sign him.

"What people forget is that Patrick helped us earn over €7 million.

"He was very influential in doing that. For us, it was without doubt great business. He is one of the most exciting players we have seen in the league in modern times. He is worth the admission money.

"His (Bradley’s) criticism didn’t make sense to me at all. It’s just a bit of bravado and playing to the gallery. I felt he wanted to criticise Dundalk to keep people happy."

The Lilywhites manager, meanwhile, said that being 1-0 down to Pat's on Friday night was a "real test" for his players and they responded to one of the most difficult games they have had this season by coming out with a 3-1 victory.

He also praised Patrick Hoban as the striker grabbed his 20th and 21st goals of a prolific Premier Division season so far.

Kenny told RTÉ Sport: "I can't praise their character enough and the manner they came back. We didn't commit enough players forward quickly enough in the first half. We did it in the second half. We had to defend well and we broke and got the third goal which was terrific.

"Patrick Hoban is showing immense leadership qualities, character and his goals are only one part of his story. He leads the line technically brilliantly. You want him in your corner, he is the man you want in your corner. You trust that he will deliver for you."

Pat Hoban joins the below list of players to score 20 goals in multiple seasons:

Billy Farrell

Robert Fullam

Patrick Bradshaw

Desmond Glynn

Shay Gibbons

Donal Leahy

Alfie Hale

Brendan Bradley

Alan Campbell

Stephen Geoghegan

Glen Crowe

Jason Byrne

Gary Twigg — A Game Of Two Halves (@gametwohalves) July 6, 2018

Up next for Dundalk is the beginning of a European campaign as they travel to Estonia to take on Levadia Tallinn. Preparations are ongoing according to Kenny.

"Ruadhri Higgins is in Estonia to watch them play on Saturday. We’ve watched them and they have a completely changed team (from the side beaten by Cork City last year).

"They have a new Serbian coach and Ukrainian striker and a lot of players playing for the Estonian national team. I have been quite impressed with them really.

"I think they look a good team. They are very well drilled and they all know what they are doing. I think we’ll get a tough game in Tallinn on Thursday. It will be our ambition to score for sure. Away goals are important. The amount of creativity we have in the team, we always feel we can score."