Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHRIS SHERRARD
QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY boss Peter Thompson insists he won’t get carried away by their impressive start to the season.
The students were locked in a relegation fight for the majority of last term but a weekend win has them sitting second in the table.
The uni boys are happy to finally be home – and determined to make the most of the fair wind in their sails at present.
On Saturday they got their first chance of the league season to play at their The Dub base in South Belfast.
And it went exactly as boss Thompson had hoped it would – with a win.
They beat Tobermore United to move into second place in the Premier Intermediate League – a point behind leaders Banbridge Town.
After opening with a fine 3-1 win over Sport and Leisure in the middle of August, the students lost their next two – at Lisburn Distillery and Dundela.
But a revenge win over the Whites in the Steel and Sons set them up for two more league wins.
And on top of that they’re going strong in the Irish Cup having sailed past Dungiven 7-2 in the second round.
That set them up for a third round tie against Banbridge – the team they’re a point behind in the league.
And Thompson, below, has revealed tails are up in the Queen’s camp but they’re only living in the here and now.
“I’ve been manager of Queen’s when we’ve been bottom of the table,” he said, “and I’ve been manager of a Queen’s side chasing promotion.
“I have seen quite a lot in my time with the club so I know you can never get carried away with yourself.
“Maybe when I was a younger manager
I’d have been looking at us second in the league and thinking we’d cracked it.
“But not now. I certainly won’t be getting carried away because it’s so early in the season.
“It’s nice to be up there and winning games of football but it really is a case of one game at a time.
“Our first objective this season is simply not to be fighting relegation again.