We are now entering the month of October and we have only played three league games to date. Our 5-0 win against AFC Craigavon was our first league win of the season and hopefully this will be the first of many. We won 5 of our 6 cup games and whilst the cup competitions will all be taken seriously the league is our main concern. Those cup wins have given us the chance to see most of the players in our squad in action and has allowed some consistency within the team towards the end of that run.
Once all the players are fit I believe we have a squad to match any in our league but quality alone will not guarantee success. Successful teams need to have hunger, belief and desire allied to hard work to have any chance of achieving their goals. Ramy, Jervis, Micky and I are constantly reminding the players of these qualities and they know that standards will not be allowed to drop within the club.
Our next game is at home to Donard in the Irish Cup next Saturday. A home draw is always welcome in the cup but we certainly won’t be taking our opponents lightly. We are still a big scalp for teams and we will need to carry last week’s performance into this game to have a chance to progress to the next round.
Whilst the Senior team get most of the headlines within the club, great credit must go to the other coaching staff from the Reserves right down to the Kids Skills School. For the club to be sustainable and full of local talent this work is vital and has not gone unnoticed.
Finally, the announcement of our three year sponsorship deal with The Canal Court is great news for the club and an endorsement of what we are trying to achieve. They were one of the club’s main sponsors when we were in the Premier League and to have them back on board is a huge boost. This deal along with another three year agreement with Around A Pound to remain as one of the main sponsors gives us much needed stability in moving forward. Great credit must go to the committee and all those involved in sealing these deals. Hopefully we can continue to match those efforts on the pitch.