The future is bright for Carrick: Surgenor
CARRICK Rangers’ Mark Surgenor is confident that his side can finish top of their division come the end of the season.
Just in case you think he has totally lost the run of himself, the midfielder admits that even with only eight games played, the Danske Bank Premiership has already split into three distinct sections.
He sees the east Antrim men locked in a battle for survival with Ballinamallard United, Ards and today’s opponents, Warrenpoint, and so the old ‘six-pointer’ cliché can be dusted off ahead of the trip to Milltown.
“Warrenpoint, like ourselves, seem to be doing okay up to cer- tain stages of the game, where you need to huff and puff and dig in, but I don’t think we’re far away,” insisted Surgenor.
“I think if we get an early goal we’ll do okay against them and that would put a bit of pressure on them at the bottom because I see the league split into three divisions and it is a key game for us and Warrenpoint. It will be a battle and I don’t think there will bemuchinit.
“There are three leagues. I reckon the top league is going to be Linfield, Crusaders, Coleraine and possibly Glenavon, the bottom four will be ourselves, Ards, Warrenpoint and Ballinamallard and in between that you have the rest.”
It is a refreshingly honest as- sessment from the man who left hometown club Ballymena United two seasons ago in search of regular first-team action and he feels that Carrick can set their sets higher in the future but the first step must be staying in the Premiership.
“Staying up is all that matters,” he said. “I don’t care if it goes down to the last game of the season again, as long as stay up. It has to be that way. Davy (McAlinden) is building something good, something where players have a bit more accountability.
“Sometimes I felt that players came to Carrick because it was either a stepping stone or to finish off, but Davy has built a young, hungry squad and hopefully we will be there for a few years together if we stay in the top league and allow him to build again.”
His versatility makes him a manager’s dream and even though it was a wrench to leave the Sky Blues, a change of scenery has also witnessed him move further up the pitch too for McAlinden.
“I played centre-half most of last year and I’ve been playing centre midfield all of this season and it’s good, we have a good bunch of lads,” he said.
“If Ballymena had offered me another contract I probably would have signed it but I know in my head that the best thing for me to do was to move on.
“Coming off the bench and getting five or six games here or there is no use, especially when you’re getting older.” Looking up: Carrick’s Mark Surgenor taking on Linfield