Hughes delighted to get McCloskey signed up again on a one-year deal

Michael Hughes hasn’t secured a new recruit since his return from a holiday in America, but he wouldn’t be any happier had he done so because getting the signature of Conor McCloskey on a new one-year deal is arguably as good as any business he has done this year!
Conor McCloskey (left) has signed a new one-year deal with the Taylor's Avenue club. Photo: Presseye.Conor McCloskey (left) has signed a new one-year deal with the Taylor's Avenue club. Photo: Presseye.
Conor McCloskey (left) has signed a new one-year deal with the Taylor's Avenue club. Photo: Presseye.

A look back at what the Carrick Rangers manager said a little over a month ago will show exactly why he is delighted with the re-signing of the quality young player: “Conor came to us from Portadown, things not having worked out for him there after he returned from a spell with Colchester. He’s a super athlete and came to us as a winger. He has great pace and is a terrific tackler and we put him into right-back and he has been brilliant.

“I have told Conor he will have a future in England as a right-back and I firmly believe that is the case.

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“He is planning to go to America for a bit of work, so it may well be that we won’t have him in the team for next season. However, he has promised that, if he doesn’t go or heads off and decides for whatever reason to come back, that he will definitely come to Taylor’s Avenue.”

Well, this week his manager’s prayers have seemingly been answered.

“Conor has signed up again and that’s great news. He decided against going to America and, since he was of our very best players last season, we’re very pleased to have him on board again,” Hughes told the Times.

“Now I think we will not be requiring any more signings, apart from a goalkeeper. We need not just back-up for Simon Steele, but ideally somebody who is going to push him for his place. Whatever else happens, we can’t afford not to have cover in case of injury.

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“We do have two or three lads training with us who are potential signings. They are good players and you never know what may happen on that front, but we’re not going out seeking any more.

RESERVE TEAM

“The numbers at the minute add up to around 24 and we really only want a squad of 22 because, with no reserve team, it will be hard to keep them all fit and happy.

“The idea of having a reserve team was good but we don’t believe the league they would have been playing in would have served the purpose, so instead we will have a regular weekly match amongst ourselves, perhaps even against the under-19s on occasions.

“But it’s a squad game these days, with rotation a feature, and players know they will have to be patient and then take their chance when it materialises. The focus is on having quality strength in depth and I am convinced we have that at Taylor’s Avenue.

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“We were due to play Rosario on Tuesday night in our first pre-season game but they called it off and we just planned a good training session instead. Now we will go to Larne Tech Old Boys next Tuesday for our first semi-competitive outing.

“After that we have a big friendly fixture against Cliftonville on Saturday, July 20 – midway between their two Champions League qualifiers against Celtic - and the other big pre-season game is against the Glens on August 3, the last weekend before the season starts,” added Hughes.

Meanwhile, the club has thanked all the fans who gave up their time on Saturday to help out with a clean up at Taylor’s Avenue on Saturday.

Also this week, Correy Davidson’s goal helped Team Ireland to a 2-1 win over Russia in the World Student Games.