Institute new signing Seamus Sharkey wants regular football

The Waterside men, who were relegated to the Bluefin Sport Championship after a mathematical formula decided the 2019/20 season, have added Jonny Bonner, Rory Kelly, Rhys McDermott and Joel Gorman from Letterkenny Rovers.

Former Ballymena United and Liverpool youngster Conor Quigley is another to sign along with ex-Derry City, Sligo Rovers and Glenavon defender, Seamus Sharkey, Camilo Sanchez, Alonzo Clarke and Dylan Doherty while teenager Dylan Sheerin has been promoted into the senior ranks.

For Sharkey, the move represents a chance to put an injury hit 2019-20 season behind him. He’s a man intent on making up for lost time and says he can’t wait to get back playing football regularly once more and, more importantly, enjoying the beautiful game again.

The 30-year-old, who brings invaluable experience to ’Stute’s youthful squad, is now concentrating on getting his fitness levels up so he can hit the ground running.

“To be honest travelling with Josh (Daniels) to all the games for Glenavon but not being able to play due to injury was a nightmare,” he insisted.

“I picked up a concussion injury at the start of last season and I was out until Christmas with it. That knocked me back a bit and I struggled to get back in the team so ,yeah, it was tough going last season.

“Now I’m just looking forward to playing again with Institute. Firstly, I want to knuckle down at training and then try to get as much game time as possible.

“I want to get back to playing games every week. I’m looking to try and get as many games in a row as possible from now until January and see where we are at that.

“I have only done the last few weeks pre-season training so it will probably take me a while to get going again but I’m getting there and I felt okay during those last few weeks.

“I’ll continue to do my own thing along with the ’Stute training so hopefully those extra sessions will also help me.”

Sharkey wants to play his part in Sean Connor’s side regaining their top flight status but feels this season’s Championship title race will be a tight affair.

“This season all the teams in the Championship are going to be well matched,” he added.

“Teams will probably take points off each other a lot this season so it’s going to be interesting to see how we get on.

“Playing at the Brandywell will be a bonus for us because we’ll be training on it and playing on it.

“We have quality in our squad and while we have a lot of young lads, I think we can still do well.

“I also think having a young squad was a big reason why Sean (Connor) pushed to get me in because obviously I have been around and hopefully I can give them a few tips which can help them out.

“We also have the likes of Sean and Emmett Friars, Mark Scoltock and Sean himself, they have all played and managed at a good level, so they have the experience of knowing where we want to be and that will help us.”

The former Derry City man, who has played with the likes of Daniels, Mark Sykes, Joel Cooper and Rhys Marshall at Mourneview Park, admitted the chance of playing regularly at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium was a big pull for him.

“The Brandywell was a big pull for me,” he insisted. “To train at the Brandywell every week and then play there every other week, that’s hard to beat as it is probably one of the best stadiums in the country.

“Joining Institute certainly wasn’t for the money, so my plan was making sure I play a good few games now, so getting the chance to play and train with Institute at the Brandywell was massive for me.”