Boost for Hoops as Chris extends his contract

Chris, on loan from Dungannon Swifts until Christmas, has signed a new contract that will see him at Knockramer Park until the close season at least.

A delighted Lavery said: “I felt going back to Dungannon and being involved in a relegation battle wasn’t the right place for me. We are in the middle of something special here and I didn’t want to leave a job half done.

“The club is going places and in my opinion Championship 2 is not where we belong as our football has shown so far this season,” said Chris.

“We are sitting top of the league and that’s hard to walk away from and with a bit of hard work we will stay there until the end of the season although it will be very difficult as there are a lot of good teams in this division.

“I believe I am only turning my back on the Premier League temporarily as our boss has us all believing we can take this club, my local club, to new levels.

“We have a great bunch of lads here and the team spirit is very high at present.”

A beaming manager Colin Malone added: “I am delighted to have secured Chris until the end of the season as he is the type of player we want to have at the club and has given the whole squad a boost.

“Hopefully we can add one or two in the transfer window to see us through the remainder of the season. We have a strong squad here and competition for places is high and we will need them all as the season progresses.”