Point of contract

Cliftonville Football Club are delighted to this morning confirm new three-year deals for both Jim Magilton and Gerard Lyttle.

While Club Members will be aware that agreement was reached on our management team’s contracts over the summer, we can today advise that all of the necessary paperwork has been formally completed on extensions until the end of the 2027/28 season.

Former Ipswich Town and Queens Park Rangers boss Magilton was appointed at Solitude in June 2023 and helped end the Club’s long wait for Irish Cup glory in May of the following year.

His second season at the helm saw the BetMcLean Cup take up residence in our trophy cabinet, while success in the Play-Offs saw Magilton become the first Reds Manager in history to both lift silverware and qualify for Europe in each of his first two campaigns in charge.

Throughout that time, he has been ably assisted by Lyttle, who initially joined the Cliftonville coaching staff under Tommy Breslin’s watch back in 2011 and was part of the backroom staff that helped deliver back-to-back Premiership titles in 2013 and 2014.

Appointed Manager in 2015, ex-Reds midfielder ‘Skin’ likewise tasted League Cup success and European qualification from the dugout prior to stepping down in 2017 and, after taking over reins at Sligo Rovers prior to a period in charge of Northern Ireland’s Under-17 and Under-19 sides, marked his return to the Club alongside Magilton two years ago.

In addition to the trophy success the team has enjoyed during Magilton’s tenure, the development of young players and integration of blossoming Academy talent allied to an attractive playing style have been key tenets of our senior team’s progress and we are delighted that both Jim and Gerard have committed to a further three years with Ireland’s Oldest Football Club.

“Jim Magilton and Gerard Lyttle have been instrumental in the successes the Club has enjoyed over the last two seasons,” commented Chairman Kieran Harding.

“As a management team, they have delivered trophies, European football and some hugely memorable experiences for supporters young and old. Their dedication to Cliftonville and to improving players on the training pitch cannot be underestimated and, as well as expressing my own delight at extending their contracts for a further three years, I’m sure I speak on behalf of Reds fans around the world when I say how much we’re all looking forward to what we can achieve in the seasons ahead.”