Manager’s programme notes
Posted : 8th January 2022
Today we will take a short break from our Premiership duties, to commence our Irish Cup campaign. It's a hugely important trophy and one we were privileged to win last season, so we will want to go as far as we possibly can in this season's competition.
We will welcome Oxford Sunnyside to Windsor Park today and we will give them the full respect that they deserve. We've had them watched, so we are fully aware of the threats they will pose. We need only recall how Annagh United made things very difficult for us in the first-round last season, before a couple of late goals saw us safely through to the next round.
We were pleased with the overall performance in the recent 1-1 draw at home to Glentoran but we were disappointed we didn't get the win that we felt we deserved on the day. Last week in Dungannon, we were hungry from the first minute to the last and scored some excellent goals, to come away from a tough venue with a very pleasing and vital 6-1 win.
On the injury front, we will be missing Conor Pepper and Ross Larkin today. We are hopeful that Christy Manzinga and Jimmy Callacher will be able to re-join the squad, if not today, in the coming days, following the injuries they sustained in the recent Glentoran game. We are also likely to be missing David Walsh and Cameron Palmer today but again, we hope to have them fit and available soon.
A warm welcome to 20-year-old forward Ethan Devine who signed for us this week from Knockbreda. We've watched him quite a few times recently and we see him as a player who has a promising future ahead of him in the game, if he continues to work hard to achieve his goals.
I’m delighted that Kyle McClean and Conor Pepper have recently agreed contract extensions that commit their futures at the club until the end of the 2023-24 season. Hopefully, we will be able to agree similar extensions for one or two other players in the near future.
Congratulations to Jamie Mulgrew who made his 650th appearance for the club in the post-Christmas home game against Glentoran. As our inspirational captain showed in last week’s game in Dungannon, he’s playing as well as ever and continues to be a major influence on and off the pitch at the club.
I want to congratulate 17-year-old scholar Callum Marshall on his move this week to West Ham. It’s a great opportunity for him and we will watch his progress with a keen interest, hoping that the exciting move works out well for him.
We were disappointed that the Swifts lost the Steel and Sons cup final on Christmas morning. The young players gave a good account of themselves but on the day, a more experienced Newington side deserved their 1-0 win. The cup final experience will aid the development of our young players and hopefully, some of the young players will kick on and be able to make a breakthrough into our first team squad.
David Dorrian stepped down as Swifts’ coach after the final and I want to thank him for his contribution over his five-year stint in charge of the Swifts and I also want to wish him well in all that he does in the future.
Michael Gault and Chris Kingsberry have stepped up from the Rangers, to take over coaching responsibilities with the Swifts and I want to wish them every success in their new roles.
We've had a lot of supporters in attendance at our recent league games against Glentoran and Dungannon and we will continue to rely on the full backing of all our supporters over the coming weeks, as we aim to bring further silverware to the club