McDonnell wants final day win to celebrate his Point contract

WARRENPOINT Town manager Stephen McDonnell (below) is convinced today’s crucial match with relegation-threatened Carrick Rangers will prove to be an entertaining affair despite the tension surrounding it.

Carrick travel to the Q Radio Area knowing they could be relegated to the Championship if they don’t equal or better Ballinamallard’s result at Glentoran.

David McAlinden’s men are 11th in the table, ahead of the Fermanagh outfit on goal difference. Stay there and they will have a play-off against Newry City to safeguard their top flight future. Drop to the bottom, though, and they will be out of the top tier.

There are no such worries for Warrenpoint, who under 26-yearold McDonnell secured Premier- ship football weeks ago for next season — earning him a new three-year contract at the club.

He would like to celebrate the deal with a victory against what he knows will be a highly motivated Carrick side.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said McDonnell. “We will definitely be going to win the game and I expect it to be an entertaining affair.”

Looking to the future, McDonnell is relishing the chance to stamp his own style on the team.

He said: “I want to bring an identity to the football club and a different brand of football to what has been seen over the last couple of years. That is something we are trying to work with and manipulate and I feel we can take the club forward.”