FOOTBALL: Tolan weighs up his options

The Bannsiders cup hero from 2003 shocked local football four years ago when he announced that he was retiring following an unhappy spell at Glentoran.

But his old mentor Marty Quinn talked him in to making a u-turn and he rejoined the Bannsiders in 2007. The Belfast man has had something of a stop start time since making his return to The Showgrounds and has not been offered a new contract by boss David Platt.

Tolan said he wants to take a few weeks to decide what to do with regards his playing career.

"I'm 32 now and I don't know whether or not I want to carry on playing," he said.

"I plan to take a bit of a rest now and see how I feel in a few weeks time,

"I've had a wonderful time at Coleraine. It's a terrific club, but unfortunately all good things come to an end.

Thr front man won the league with Cliftonville and also had a loan spell at Donegal Celtic, however he was quick to rule out a link up with former teammates Pat McAllister and Sean Armstrong at DC.

It was while he was at Suffolk Road that he made his decision to quit, however Quinn's powers of persuasion and a return to the Bannsiders proved to be too much of a lure for him.

Tolan though was the first to admit that his second spell at the club wasn't as fulfilling as his first.

"Unfortunately I struggled a lot with injuries during my second spell," he said.

"Because of that I didn't really get to play a lot of games, which was very frustrating for me. But I'd like to think the fans appreciated what I did for the club. It will always be a very special place for me."