Shamrock Rovers striker Padraig Amond is looking to follow-up on his double strike against Sligo Rovers by netting against arch rivals Bohemians on Saturday night.

The young Hoops striker bagged two goals against Sligo last weekend to help his side to a convincing 3-0 win at The Showgrounds. That result has filled Rovers with confidence going into Saturday night's huge Dublin derby against Bohemians at the Tallaght Stadium (live on Setanta Sports Ireland, 7.30pm).

"Games against Bohemians are tough no matter who you are but obviously because of the rivalry and because it's the first derby in Tallaght there will be a lot of people looking at it," said Amond. "Hopefully it will be a good show but, more importantly, three points for us.  

"There's usually only the odd goal in them. The form book goes out the window in games like these, it's all about who wants it more and who is willing to put that extra little bit in to get the victory and make sure they have the bragging rights.  

"There's no easy games. I think everybody can beat everybody, as you could see with Derry beating Bohs last week and Bray beating us the week before. We went to Sligo last week and got a great result. Not many people would have expected us to bounce back as well as we did. It goes to show how tight the league will be. I think it will be an interesting year at both ends of the table."

Amond says that the Hoops are confident of making big progress this season, helped in no small way by the success of their new stadium in Tallaght. Every Rovers match at the stadium has been a sell-out, and Saturday's derby will be no different.

"When the gaffer came in he said that we were going to aim high," he said. "We haven't won a lot recently and for a club this big that's not acceptable, so the aim is to win something. This year is about setting ourselves up in Tallaght and making it a fortress. Every game we've had so far the club has been turning people away. Every game has been sold out and we probably could have sold them twice over.

"Cork, Bohs and Derry seem to be the top three at the minute but it's up to us to break into that top three and to eventually take top spot and win the league. Once the summer comes the gaffer will want to bring players in and I'm sure they will be very good players because he has signed excellent players already. I think we'll be a lot stronger after the break."

LISTEN TO THE PADRAIG AMOND PODCAST HERE