THE most travelled player in the League of Ireland is packing his bags again -- because there are so few options left in Irish football for full-time players.

Defender Joe Kendrick has seen a good bit of the world since he left his Dublin home and signed up with Newcastle United as a 16-year-old in 1999. After four years in England with Newcastle, he went to Germany (a season with 1860 Munich), back to England (Darlington, Tamworth, Workington), then to Ireland in 2008 (Drogheda United), moved again to a club in far-off Azerbaijan for an ill-fated spell (Neftchi Baku) and returned to Ireland again last summer (Sligo Rovers), but only after he'd had trials with clubs in Slovakia and Holland.

But it's likely that the 26-year-old will be lining out in Finnish football next season as the manager of FC Haka, his old Drogheda team-mate Sami Ristila, wants Kendrick to join up for the 2010 season.

"I think the League of Ireland has gone stale and it's going to be very hard for players to stay full-time as clubs are all reducing their budgets, so I think a lot of players will be looking to go abroad," says Kendrick.

OPTION

"I have nothing signed or agreed yet but Sami has been in touch with me from Finland. He seems keen to sign me and he wants me to go out there in the New Year to have a look.

"It's an option for me and something I will consider. It means packing up and travelling again and that's not easy when you have a young family, but I think you need to be open to new ideas and new places and be willing to accept new challenges.

"Most of the clubs here in Ireland are making cutbacks, Derry are gone from the Premier Division, so there aren't as many opportunities for players in Ireland and we have to consider going abroad.

"I have been around Europe a bit now but the moves have been good experience. I learned a lot in places like Germany and Azerbaijan.

"But I won't be back at Sligo next season as we have agreed to part company.

"They basically said my contract would not be renewed so I was happy to move on.

"The football was good at Sligo. We had a good run in the league and got to the Cup final, but things were difficult as well, and the training conditions weren't the best at times," added Kendrick.

"We had no difficulties with wages at Sligo, as happened to players at other clubs, but it's something that needs to be looked at.

"Clubs can't keep letting players down in terms of wages. The FAI need to take a good look at the situation and make sure there are sanctions for clubs who don't pay the wages. It's not right that they can get away with it," added Kendrick, who was forced to ask FIFA to intervene in a dispute he had with his previous club in Azerbaijan over unpaid wages.

Ristila knows Irish football well, having spent three seasons with Drogheda, and he is keen to explore the LOI as a source of talent, with Cork City forward Fahrudin Kudozovic among the players he is interested in.

Meanwhile, Kendrick's Sligo team-mate Richie Ryan could also be on the move. He is out of contract after his second season with Rovers and has been offered a new deal by Sligo, but on reduced terms, and Ryan is unsure of his next move.

"I have to look at my options now," says Ryan, who joined Sligo last year after a spell with Belgian club Royal Antwerp.

"There is the offer of a new contract from Sligo but it's on lesser wages that last season and none of us were on big money to begin with.

"I have enjoyed it at Sligo and I think I have played well so I will wait and see what happens in the next few weeks."

Sligo look certain to lose Romauld Boco and Raffael Cretaro, both players being linked with Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians.

- Aidan Fitzmaurice