Kenny’s shopping spree not over yet

SOCCER SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION

DUNDALK manager Stephen Kenny is hopeful of adding ‘two or three’ more players to his side before the start of the new League of Ireland season.

In a busy week at Oriel Park the signings of Jamie McGrath, Niclas Vemmelund and Conor Clifford were all secured to add to the arrival of Sean Hoare before Christmas, while last season’s leading scorer David McMillan and the club’s joint-longest servant John Mountney also committed themselves to the club for the new campaign.

Speaking after overseeing the club’s return to pre-season training at DkIT Sport on Monday, Kenny told The Argus that his transfer business was still not complete though with wingers remaining his priority.

‘With Niclas and Sean Hoare coming in it means we have very good options across the back four. Conor Clifford coming in gives us a bit of a creative edge in midfield while Jamie McGrath is an exceptional talent too, who has that unique ability to beat two or three players.

‘We do need to add further in wide areas though and that is the priority now. We have been in discussions with two or three players but we will have to wait and see what happens there as there are a few issues to work out,’ said Kenny.

One of Kenny’s main targets remains former Derry City winger Michael Duffy, now at Celtic. Dundalk remain hopeful of securing a deal for the 22-year-old despite the fact he is currently on loan at Dundee. It is understood that Celtic are in favour of ending this agreement, however, given the fact that Duffy has made just one start for the Dens Park side all season and hasn’t featured for the first team since October 26th in a 2-0 defeat at home to Partick Thistle.

Everton’s Stephen Kinsella, who spent the second half of last season on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic, also remains on the radar while there has been rumours of a possible move for a player from one of last year’s Europa League opponents, AZ Alkmaar.

For now though Kenny is happy with the three new players he has brought on board this week.

‘Niclas has good European experience from playing in Iceland with Stjarnan where he won a league title and played in their good European run against the likes of Lech Poznan and Inter Milan.

‘Jamie can play in a number of roles – 10, 9, 7 and 11 – and he’s one of those players who can take people on. He’s still only 20 but he’s only going to get better and has some good attributes.’

Kenny is also hopeful that his latest addition, Conor Clifford, can live up to the hype that surrounded him during his underage days at Chelsea when he was tipped as a future Irish international.

‘We’ve probably got him at a bit of a low ebb. He has played a lot of games in England and won the Conference with Barnet a few years ago. That’s still a big fall from grace from Chelsea but that can happen to a player.

‘It’s up to him now to work hard to get his career back on track. You can never be sure how these things will pan out but that’s the challenge ahead of him now. He’s definitely a player we’re excited about. He sees things early and is a great passer.’

All three players, as well as fellow new recruit Sean Hoare, took part in the first pre-season training event on Monday where Ciaran Kilduff won the dreaded bleep test.

Kenny told The Argus he was happy with how the day went.

‘It was mainly just fitness testing and integrating the four new players into the group. As I say we hope to have another couple before we start the season but it was good to get the first session out of the way.

‘There’s a long way to go before we play Shamrock Rovers on February 24th. We’ve a lot of work to do and it’s a very short pre-season.’

The only players who failed to take a full part in yesterday’s session were full back Sean Gannon, who had a slight back problem, and Chris Shields who is still recovering from a groin injury that curtailed his involvement towards the end of last year.

Kenny also expressed his delight at having David McMillan and John Mountney back on board. Norwegian champions Rosenborg and Shamrock Rovers had shown an interest in McMillan while both Sligo Rovers and Cork City had shown an interest in Mountney, who also had options in America.

‘I thought David and Ciaran Kilduff were outstanding for us last season. Considering we only played with one striker, for the two of them to get 34 goals between them is an incredible return and Picture: Aidan Dullaghan they both work so hard team as well.

‘David got 21 goals in total and his five against FH and BATE were particularly special.’

While Shane Grimes was not present at pre-season training on Monday as he recovers from a hamstring operation, Kenny has also refused to close the door on the left back, insisting ‘I would like to see him back in a Dundalk jersey’.

One player set to leave Dundalk, however, is Georgie Poynton who is due to join Bohemians on loan. for the

Meanwhile, Kenny said he was ‘very honoured’ to be named SSE Airtricity/SWAI Personality of the Year for a second time at the annual awards ceremony in Dublin on Friday night.

‘It’s a very prestigious award and to win it twice is something I couldn’t have envisaged. I thought Daryl Horgan would win it myself so it was a nice surprise.

‘It was a great way to finish off last year. Now it’s all about looking ahead. You have to prove yourself all the time and that’s what we intend to do again this season,’ said Kenny.