Seasonal change

Jim Magilton says that, as difficult as midweek European elimination was to stomach, he, his staff and players will shake it out of their system before the new domestic season gets under way.

Cliftonville’s Sports Direct Premiership schedule commences with a trip to Bangor three weeks from today and the Manager – who gave game time to Academy talents Ryan Corrigan, Joe Sheridan and Keevan Hawthorne in the UEFA Conference League clashes with St Joseph’s, while Oisin Murray and Owen Mahoney were kept in reserve on the bench – expects a combination of those emerging stars and some fresh additions to bolster his squad before the transfer window closes.

“Losing in that matter will take a lot out of us mentally and physically but we’ll regroup, we’ll be fine,” he said.

“Now it’s about focusing on the season ahead of us and being ready when the League starts next month. We’ll be looking to get bodies in, we have to try and get quality in that can help influence the group and give the group a lift, but we also have a lot of young talent knocking on the door and I’ll never be afraid to call upon them either.”

Magilton also offered some insight behind the departures of Shea Kearney – who joined Dunfermline Athletic last week – and Sean Stewart, whose switch to Sligo Rovers was confirmed earlier today.

“Obviously, we would have loved to have had Shea available for both legs of the European tie,” he said.

“The truth is, we were actually lucky to have him for the game in Gibraltar. The deal with Dunfermline was pretty much done by that time, it just had to be finalised, and Dunfermline actually gave us permission for him to play out there. Obviously, we would have loved to have had him for the second leg, but Dunfermline’s season started last weekend and they wanted him in by then, which is understandable.

“It would also have been a tough one for Shea because, in my experience, once a player knows he’s moving on, that can obviously impact on your focus, your performance and everything else, and it would have put him in a very difficult and probably unfair position.

“In terms of Sean Stewart, I spoke with Sean recently when he was seeking assurances about game time that I wasn’t able to promise him and he made it clear he’d rather move on in that case. I’d said about sorting a loan move for him but he was adamant he’d rather just leave and, again, once a player signs out, I think it’s best for all parties that they move on.”

Having secured a loan deal for Derry City defender Conor Barr on Friday, Magilton is seeking further reinforcements for the campaign ahead.

“Our focus is now on the domestic season ahead and we’ll look to get some extra quality into the squad to give the whole group a lift,” he added.

“Conor Barr has certainly done that, he’s been fantastic since he’s come in. It’s now about recruiting the right ones to come in and I’m optimistic that we can do business.”