Derry boss says Bradley has decision to make

Derry boss Brian McIver says Coleraine striker Eoin Bradley ‘has a decision to make’ about his future with the inter-county campaign set to commence in January.
Eoin Bradley turns inside Jaimie McGovern to score Coleraine's secondEoin Bradley turns inside Jaimie McGovern to score Coleraine's second
Eoin Bradley turns inside Jaimie McGovern to score Coleraine's second

Bradley has made a huge impact since signing for the Bannsiders in September, scoring five goals in eight games to date. However, with Derry returning to Division One Oak Leaf boss McIver is adamant that he can’t accommodate any player who wants to play soccer.

“Eoin is still very keen to play a bit of soccer, he is also very keen to be involved with Derry,” said McIver.

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“But he knows that if we have a game on a Sunday, he can’t be playing 90 minutes of soccer on a Saturday.

“It will get to the stage where he has a decision to make. But we will wait and see how things develop.

The Derry boss was keen to stress that Bradley’s soccer commitments hadn’t led to any tension between them.

“The lines of communication are still open,” he said.

“In Eoin’s mind, he would happily play for Coleraine on Saturday, for us on Sunday and for Glenullin on monday.

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“He would willingly do that. The problem is you can’t really do that. There is no way a man can play 90 minutes of soccer on a Saturday then face mayo or Dublin or Kerry or Cork or Tyrone or Kildare or Westmeath the next day. You just can’t do that.”

Coleraine boss Oran Kearney says he will leave Eoin to make the decision.

“Whether he stays will entirely depend on Eoin. We will respect his wishes. We wouldn’t want to make it uncomfortable. He is more than happy with it and he hasn’t put a date on it,” he said.

“It is really up to him. We were pleased when he came on board and at the start it was clear that he was very keen to sign.

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“He said himself that he is enjoying it far more than he thought that he would. He is enjoying being part of the team, and our lads have all been very welcoming.

“But I am not in a position to keep him here. I won’t use any forceful tactics. That is not what I am about or what sport is about. But I know that he was delighted to join.”