Newry keen to write new chapters in fairytale story: Mullen
“We’ve always set out with a professional mindset so the changes are not dramatic.
“We are as professional as possible with regards to training sessions and the players have enjoyed them. Hopefully they will enjoy their football and do themselves justice.”
The return of goalkeeper Andy Coleman from Dungannon Swifts is a nice homecoming story while other new faces include Dale Montgomery, Stephen Teggart, Stefan Lavery, Tiarnan Rushe, Conall Delaney and Noel Healy.
Chris McMahon, Ruairi Cunningham, Robbie Mackin and Martin Havern, meanwhile, have left the club.
Newry City will inevitably encounter a few bumps on the road but there’s a steely resolve to stick around in the Premiership.
“Mental toughness is important because football can be tough,” added Mullen. “There will be setbacks for us going forward. I’d rather be playing Premiership football and worrying about that than trying to get there.”
• LINFIELD have confirmed the signing of Danish midfielder Benny Moller Nielsen on a one-year professional contract.
The 22-year-old recently played for the Windsor Park club in three pre-season games against Carrick Rangers, Waterford and Knockbreda as a trialist.
He has previously played for Odense BK, Silkeborg IF, VSK Aarhus and Aarhus Fremad in his native Denmark.
“I’m delighted to sign for Linfield. I know they are a big club with a great history,” said Moller Nielsen.
“I want to do all I can to help bring success to the club. I feel this is the right challenge for me and I can’t wait to get started. I always wanted to play in the UK, so when this opportunity came along, I couldn’t say no.”
THE thought of playing Coleraine away from home on the opening weekend of the season may see some managers running for the hills.
Not Stephen McDonnell. Warrenpoint Town’s 26-yearold boss is relishing the challenge of visiting the Showgrounds on Saturday to take on last season’s runners-up in the title race, who one week after missing out on Championship success to Crusaders showed their character by claiming the Irish Cup.
Oran Kearney’s Bannsiders will be odds-on favourites to blow Warrenpoint away, but for McDonnell it is a fixture to savour.
“I’m excited by the match,” said the former Dundalk midfielder.
“Oran has them in top shape and they were a joy to watch last season.
“They are a highly impressive side and for me they were probably the most organised team but got pipped to the post at the end by Crusaders.
“It is actually a nice one for us to start with because it is not a game we are expected to get anything from, whereas if it was one of the teams likely to be around us in the table there would be that little bit more pressure.
“Going there for our lads there should be a weight off our shoul- ders, and I believe the players can enter the Coleraine match with confidence because we’ve had a really good pre-season.
“We’ve got our ideas across and have been getting the boys up to scratch fitness-wise so we’ll enter the match with a positive feeling and see where it takes us.”
McDonnell was viewed as a Ballymena United boss David Jeffrey (below) certainly wasn’t lying beside the pool all summer judging by his transfer business, but another responsibility for the Sky Blues chief is preparing his players for playing away from home for the first two months of the campaign.
With a new pitch put down at the Showgrounds, United are on the road and their resilience and strength will be tested. Either points will be hard to come by or the squad will come out fighting. surprise appointment when he took over the reins in February on an interim basis when Matthew Tipton left after accepting the Portadown job.
By April, McDonnell had secured top-flight football for Warrenpoint and earned himself a new contract.
Now the aim is to build on what he has already achieved, with numerous arrivals and departures in the summer as he strives to make it his team with an identity to be proud of.
“We want to make progress. When a new manager comes in it can go one of two ways and thankfully we got a positive reaction from the group, made an impact and got a few ideas across,” said McDonnell.
“We are still a small club and the main focus for us will be to stay in the league and try to build on our ideas with the new additions we have brought to the club.
“We have a squad of 20 and I’d like to get one or two more in and am working on that at the moment.
“We have recruited players to suit what we are looking to do and build an identity for Warrenpoint Town.
“When we speak about a club like Crusaders we know what style they will play and we want to create an identity so that when people speak about us they have an idea of what they are going to see.
“Will it win us every game? Absolutely not. But it’s having the idea and following that idea and going with it.
“There will be different pressures that I’ve never experienced at this level but we are ready to embrace them.
“We have made additions to the backroom team and the firstteam panel is what we have put together to create that identity, so it will be interesting to see how it all comes together.”