Dundalk sporting director Jim Magilton is looking forward to witnessing supporters inside Oriel Park for the first time since he arrived at the club last December.

One hundred fans will be present for the SSE Airtricity League encounter with Waterford on Friday night and Magilton is hoping the Lilywhites can welcome them back with three points.

“I know what this club means to the fans and to have any noise or support behind us is fantastic,” he said. “I really hope they enjoy being back and I hope we give them something to shout about.”

The fixture with the struggling Blues will be the 52-year-old’s 10th match in charge of the team since he stepped into the dugout following the departure of Shane Keegan and Filippo Giovagnoli and he said he was content to stay there until the club had identified a suitable manager.

“I know there is a lot of speculation about the manager’s position but we just have to watch this space and wait for the board to confirm what is happening and make an appointment,” he said.

“I am happy to do what the football club and the board want me to do. I suppose we are fortunate that I can step into the role of manager and I’ll do that for as long as they want me to do that.”

Waterford make the trip to Oriel Park sitting bottom of the table with just six points from 14 games. A turbulent season has seen them replace their manager and owner with Marc Bircham and Richard Forrest taking over from Kevin Sheedy and Lee Power respectively.

Magilton knows Bircham well from his time at Queens Park Rangers and he said the Londoner would have his new charges well-drilled for his first game in charge.

“There’s no doubt that Waterford will be ready for it,” said Magilton. “They have some good players and they will cause us a problem. Marc was a youth team coach when I was at QPR and I also played against him a few times.

“He’s a very chirpy guy and he’s a good character. He’ll have them set up to try to win the game and frustrate us. They’ll be well-organised, so we’ll need to be patient and start on the front foot.”

Dundalk will be looking to build on an impressive victory away to St Patrick’s Athletic before the break and Magilton believes that win has filled the players with some much-needed confidence.

“They look like they’re raring to go and you get a feeling that there is a real appetite among them to get out there and play. We’ll just have to wait and see but we know that they are capable and if their attitude and application is right, they’re more than capable of winning any game.”

You can watch Dundalk FC v Waterford on LOITV.ie. Buy a season pass for just €79 or buy a match pass for €5.