Doherty and Gillan the next to leave The Showgrounds

AS the countdown to the new season continues to gather pace another two players have left The Showgrounds.

Michael Doherty and Mark Gillan became the latest departures from the Bannsiders at the end of last week as Oran Kearney trims his squad ahead of the big kick off.

“Mark and Michael have joined David Scullion in exiting the club,” Kearney told Times Sport.

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“I’d like to thank them for their efforts but due to budget and other factors we decided to release them.

“I want to give Wayne Drummond the push now as our number one for the season ahead.

“Unfortunately for Mark the competition killed him a bit. But he has a great attitude and wasn’t prepared to sit it out here, he wants to play regularly and fair play to him.”

The hard work of pre-season training begins this week and there is set to be a couple of new faces in the line up along with Stephen Douglas, Gary Browne and Drummond. Kearney revealed that he has invited local lad Stephen McClements to pre-season after impressing with local side Liverpool Supporters’ Club.

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And Stephen Dooley will also be put through his paces as he is home on holiday.

“I have maintained regular contact with Stephen and I’m delighted he’ll be training with us over the next few weeks,” said Kearney.

“He has another year to go in America but has always spoken of his desire to play for his hometown club.

“As for Stephen McClements it would be remiss of me if I didn’t take a look at local talent. He has scored a lot of goals and this gives us a chance to take a closer look at him.

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“As far as other players coming in it is very quiet all over at the minute with very little movement.

“I’m happy with our business to date. We have a solid quad and the players we have brought in are established, experienced guys who are able to slot straight in. The hard work begins now but we’re looking forward to it.”