Dorrian excited by Dixon Park challenge

The 50-year-old, who had been assistant at Dixon Park, was confirmed as the new Reds’ boss less than 24 hours after Eddie Hill resigned on Saturday.

It’s a bit of a baptism of fire for the Carnmoney man as the Comrades hover six points above the drop zone with six games left to play. But the former Ballymena United reserve team boss has stacks of coaching experience and he’s hopeful there is enough quality in the ranks to preserve their status in the second tier of the Irish League.

“I’m excited about the job and looking forward to it. It certainly is a big challenge,” he said.

“The thing about us as a team is that we have done pretty well against better footballing sides. We had a great match against Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Cup. We ran them close and ultimately ended up getting beat on penalties.

“The lads have already shown what they have got to beat Linfield in the cup this year, so there definitely is quality there. All we have to do is get a bit of confidence in us and we should be fine.”

He added: “There’s definitely enough quality there for us to stay up.”

Dorrian, who arrived at Ballyclare earlier this season said he was sorry to see Hill go.

“I’ve worked really closely with Eddie and he brought me to the club. I’ve known him for a long time and I’ve a lot of respect for him as a player, manager and as a person.We had a good talk about it and he said if the opportunity comes up here, I’d be mad if I don’t take it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”