Clancy making his mark with new and old recruits
NEW Drogheda United boss Tim Clancy’s pre-Christmas shopping spree has gathered pace in recent days and as we went to press he had nine players signed up for 2018 – including former Drogs favourite Gareth McCaffrey.
The ex Shamrock Rovers man started last season with the Boynesiders but couldn’t replicate the form that made him a huge hit in the run to promotion 12 months ago and eventually signed for First Division Cabinteely.
However, Clancy is a former teammate of McCaffrey as Scottish Premiership club Hibernian and more recently Shamrock Rovers and that familiarity was undoubtedly a factor in persuading the 21-year-old forward to return to United Park.
Clancy has also signed up another striker in Chris Lyons who almost joined Drogheda from Sligo Rovers in the summer of last year but then changed his mind and opted for Bray Wanderers instead.
Drogheda will be the seventh club Lyons (24) has played for, with his best spell coming in 2013 and 2014 when he scored a total of 10 goals in 40 appearances for Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers B.
Four members of last season’s squad have also re-signed, namely Jake Hyland, Luke Gallagher, Colm Deasy and Stephen Meaney, following earlier confirmation that Sean Brennan, Kevin Farragher and Conor Kane were staying.
It’s a good start for Clancy, who has been speaking about the return of McCaffrey and the retention of Gallagher who looks likely to former the central defensive partnership with Farragher that proved so strong in 2016.
‘Gareth was a young lad there when I was at Hibernian and he was also at Shamrock Rovers when I was there and he’s the type of player who never gives a defender a moment’s rest.
‘He is very quick and very strong and given half a chance he can finish.
‘He was pivotal the year Drogheda were promoted. He knows himself that last year didn’t go as well as it could have done, but he has all the ability, I’m delighted on board and it’s a big year for him.
‘Luke Gallagher had a frustrating year this year, he was in and out of the team and he could have been a bit fitter, but the year before he was brilliant and he’s bought into what we want to do as well.’
Lyons, like McCaffrey, is well known to Clancy as they were teammates at Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers, where he was signed by Drogheda’s new director of football Dave Robertson, and the management team will be looking for the livewire forward to hit the ground running and establish himself at United Park after a number of stopstart seasons in recent times.
The box-to-box energy of Hyland, a survivor from 2016, will be another key ingredient if the Boynesiders are to feature at the right end of the First Division table, while Deasy, still only 20, looks set to be the first-choice right-back as he too enters his third season at United Park.
Meaney (19) made an impact towards the tail end of last season, scoring his first senior goal in the victory away to Finn Harps, and can expect to see more action in 2018.
Meanwhile, Drogheda have confirmed that they will host Bohemians in one of their pre-season friendlies on Tuesday January 23rd, a month before the league campaign begins.
Clancy said there is likely to be one game before that and another two or three afterwards, including the Jim Malone Cup match against Dundalk which looks set to be take place at United Park.