Newry City AFC Manager Stuart King is delighted to welcome Thomas Lockhart back to The Showgrounds as his first signing at the club.

Stuart commented “I am really pleased Thomas has decided to come back to The Showgrounds as I know he has been a massive player for the club. I’ve seen him play and know his talent is top quality and his attitude is first class.

“Hopefully I can use this as the benchmark for the players that I want to bring in, I know Thomas will raise the standards of the group and is vital to what we are trying to achieve.”

Thomas commented “I’m delighted to be Stuarts first signing at The Showgrounds. When Stuart approached me, it was an easy decision, I have a big affinity with the club both playing and coaching underage.

“I don’t like to see the club where they are so if I can play a part in getting the club ultimately to the Premiership I’m excited to be part of that project.”

Photographs courtesy of Brendan Monaghan Photography.

Newry City AFC are pleased to announce the appointment of Stuart King as First Team Manager. Stuart comes with a wealth of experience both as a player and as a manager, we trust he will be an excellent fit at The Showgrounds.

Stuart commented “I am delighted to be at The Showgrounds, it’s been going on in the background for a while now and I have had plenty of discussions with the club and had things that I wanted to think through before I accepted but now I am very pleased it’s over the line.

“I believe this is a brilliant project for me, it’s close to home and I have family from Newry, I think I can really make a difference here and help put smiles back on peoples faces. I am really looking forward to talking to the players and staff and start getting new players in.”

First, let me say what an honour and privilege it has been to serve this great club as Chairman for the last 12 years. I have had an association with Newry for a very long time, in fact I had my 21st birthday party here at the club.
I have had many roles at this club before my term as Chairman and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. I have made many lifelong friends through Newry City Football Club and Northern Ireland football in general for which I am very grateful. I have been considering my position for quite some time now and although I feel there is never an ideal time to vacate this position and the role I have loved I think the time now has arrived. I have always put Newry City first in any decision I have made and for that reason and that reason alone I believe it’s time for a new face with fresh ideas to lead us back to greater things, someone who can continue to drive this great club forward and get us back where we belong.

My plan has been for a long time to step down from the chair after the completion of our fantastic new training facility on the back pitch and I feel I’m leaving the chair having helped oversee one of the biggest and badly needed projects at the showgrounds for a very long time.
This has been a demanding and time consuming role and I must thank my wife and family who accepted wholeheartedly the time and sacrifices this job demanded.
Over the years I have enjoyed complete support from all my committee members and I owe them all a great debt of gratitude for that support. I hope to continue to help this club progress in whatever way I can if the new Chairman wishes.

While at many times this role may have been stressful, I will always look back at my time in the chair with great pride, the successes we enjoyed and the many great days we had especially over the last 12 years. Those great days far outweigh the not so good days.
I’d like to thank the managers, coaches the staff and the countless players that have pulled on the Newry City shirt with pride, thank you for your dedication and unwavering support.
A great debt of gratitude has to go to the many sponsors who have been very supportive over the years and I’d like to thank each and every one.
Thanks to the unseen members of our club the volunteers without whom we couldn’t function. Lastly a big thank you to our dedicated band of supporters who follow us through thick and thin, please continue to do what you do best and show your support for our new Chairman and our great club. Our support is recognised as some of the best in the league and the envy of many clubs, you are a credit to NCAFC.

Yours in sport
Martin.

Newry City AFC can confirm that Darren Mullen will step down as First Team Manager at the end of the season.

We thank Darren and his back room staff for coming back to the club during what has been a tough season. It was a privilege to have Darren as Manager for 400+ games.

Darren commented “This is a tough day for the club and as manager I can only apologise to the fans. Ultimately we just haven’t been good enough. It was always my plan to step aside at the end of the season so I will now help the club in the process of finding a new manager.

“We will take time to review what has gone wrong and put plans in place to appoint the right man to get us back where we belong. I’d like to thank the players for their efforts and the coaching staff for their commitment in what has been a tough season. Most importantly I’d like to thank the fans for their unwavering support and assure them that there will be brighter days ahead.” 💙