Newry City captain Chris McMahon is delighted to be back playing first team football, following a frustrating period on the sidelines with a medial ligament strain.

The 24 year old made his return to the Newry starting eleven in the league win against Larne last Friday night, and although he was pleased to come out of the 90 minutes unscathed, the Newry skipper admits his side’s performance level was well below what they are capable of.

“On a personal note, it was great to be back playing,” he said.

“It’s been a bit stop start lately for me. I knew I would get my chance again once I got fully fit, so hopefully that’s the injuries behind me, and I can keep my position and keep working hard for the team.

“We had a good first half against Larne and should really have been out of sight. In the second half our backs were against the wall, but thankfully when it mattered most, we came up with the goods.

“I think we’ve played really well in a lot of games this season, and we haven’t got anything out of them, so it was nice for a change for things to work out the opposite way, and to get the three points this time,” he admitted.

The Newry squad has been depleted with injuries in the opening months of the season, particularly at the back, with defenders Neil Mullen, Paddy Mooney, Ian Curran, Ruairi Cunningham, Conor McCaul and Paul Mallon all still on the injury list for Darren Mullen’s side.

But with both himself, and the inspirational Darren King now back in the thick of things again, McMahon is hopeful that the club have turned a corner and can continue making their way up the league table.

“Our confidence levels have grown after the Larne result, and hopefully we can go on a bit of a run now,” McMahon said.

“It’s so tight at the moment. We’re six points off bottom and seven points off second, so it shows, with a couple of wins we can leapfrog teams around us. The aim now is to keep knocking out teams and keep climbing the table.

“We’re away to Limavady United on Saturday and we know it is going to be another tough game for us. It’ll be a battle, like most games this year. They have a small narrow pitch, so we know we have to go down and put in 90 minutes hard work and roll up the sleeves. But if we play to the best of our ability we’re more than capable of coming away with the three points.”