WE ARE NOT GUNNER WIN LEAGUE

Bell’s Seagoe a match for most but they don’t have a title in their locker

TONY Bell says his Seagoe side are the “Arsenal or Tottenham” of Mid-ulster’s Intermediate B.

The man who has won honours for the likes of Tandragee and Richhill in his career in the dugout, doesn’t think his new side will match those achievements.

But, like the North London duo, on their day they can prove to be a real thorn in the side of those with championship aspirations.

“We have played seven games and we should have 21 points,” he told Match On Tuesday.

“We’ve lost three games and in the Markethill Swifts one it was down to two of the biggest howlers I’ve seen in all my time in football.

“We played Craigavon City in the first game of the season and didn’t have a goalkeeper for the match and lost 5-4.

“The St Mary’s defeat, if it had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped it.

“We missed so many chances in that one and it cost us.

“We aren’t going to win the league because of those types of individual mistakes we’ve been making but we will definitely have a big say in who does win it.

“If I was St Mary’s, Markethill or Lurgan Town I’d want to get us out of the way.

“We’re like Arsenal or Spurs – we’re not going to win the league but we have the ability to beat those who will.”

He added: “When I was manager of Richhill we struggled in the early part of the season and lost too many games we should have taken something from.

“We had 13 games to go and I asked the boys to win 12 of them because if we did that we wouldn’t be far away from promotion.

“We lost the very next game but the arithmetic remained the same and, even though we knew it was a tall order, we won the next 12 in a row and got promoted.”

Bell took the reins at Tarsan Lane in the summer, weeks after Lee Winter and Geordie Mcallister had guided the club to the Alan Wilson Cup.

That ended an 18-year wait for silverware at Seagoe, denying Oxford Sunnyside the double in the process.

However, out from that team has gone a man who went past the 50-goal mark last season – Lee Bonis.

His departure to Portadown in the close season caught some by surprise but he’s been a breath of fresh air since moving to Shamrock Park, making the club’s September goal of the month competition the Lee Bonis goal of the month competition.

He was decorated with the NIFL Championship Player of the Month in September and leads the club’s scoring charts.

The 20-year-old’s rapid progress – he was with Portadown BBOB before Seagoe – has underlined the quality lurking in the Mid-ulster ranks with his strike partner at times for the Ports being a man who started last season in Intermediate B as well – Aaron Duke.

Bell (right) has helped guide the fortunes of plenty of talented young players over his many years in the game, of course.

And he only regrets that he didn’t get the chance to work with

Bonis before his departure. He said: “If I had got six months with him at Seagoe I’d have made him an even better player.

“He was the best striker in Midulster football and I’m glad he is where he is now.

“I judge players pretty quickly and from I first saw Lee I felt he had everything to make it in the Irish League. “He’s quick, he’s brave and he clearly knows where the goal is.

“And I like his confidence – he’s arrogant but not over-confident. “I told him he needs to listen to the coaches and, even if he disagrees with what they’re telling him, get his head down and keep doing the right things. “I firmly believe he has the ability to go even higher than Portadown if he wants to.” Bell added: “I was doing my best to retire at the end of last season.

“I was playing bowls and hoping to get more golf in. “I came in to try and steady the ship at Rectory after half the team left them and getting them promoted was a mini miracle in all honesty. “I stepped down from Rectory on the Monday night and by Tuesday I had three clubs looking me. I had turned down Seagoe a few times before but I came down and saw the improvements to the facilities.

“I thought Bonis was staying and I was looking forward to working with him but it’s a great wee club with good people off the pitch and I’m enjoying it here.”

Three wins from their last four Intermediate B games has propelled Seagoe into the top five in the standings.

Alan Wilson Cup Final hero Dylan Byrne was to the fore at the weekend as they took Craigavon City apart in a 5-2 rout.

He bagged a hat-trick and Jamie Rowland, nephew of former Northern Ireland international Keith, the other two as they bounced back from a narrow loss to leaders Markethill Swifts the previous Saturday.

That weekend thumping of Craigavon brought their goals tally to 20 – the same as Markethill.

However, they’ve shipped 24 goals in all competitions already this season and kept a clean sheet just once.

And that’s a department the boss is looking to address with some urgency.

Bell added: “I’ve always been an attacking manager – as a forwards coach I don’t think there’s anyone better.

“But defensively there are plenty better than me.

“Lee Bonis’ goals last season were worth about 15 points – in all the tight games those goals decide it in your favour.

“So we’ve had to try and find a way to replace that from other places.

“Jamie Rowland (right) has scored seven from wide left and done really well but he’s away to university now so we have to replace him as well.

“At half-time on Saturday I asked Dylan [Byrne] to hold the ball up better and be involved in a goal for us in the second half because if he did that I felt we’d win the game.

“It was 2-2 and he went and scored a hat-trick to win the match for us.

“He’s a good finisher with pace to burn – defenders don’t want him running at them.

“He gets into good positions and hopefully that hat-trick will give him the confidence to go and score more and more goals.

“This weekend it’s the Intermediate Cup and that gives us a chance to mix things up a bit and give other players the opportunity to show what they can do.

“We beat Sirocco from the Amateur League in the Irish Cup and then put up a really good performance against Rathfirland when I feared the worst, but our boys came out of the game with a lot of credit.

“As long as I see 100% effort on Saturday and we can work on the things we want to then I’ll be happy.”