INSTITUTE: Paddy McLaughlin delighted with players work-rate and attitude

McLaughlin feels the squad deserves a lot of credit for their professionalism both on and off the training pitch..

“The countdown is now on for the start of the season and the boys to be fair to them are putting in a serious shift,” he said.

“We have now completed our second week’s pre-season sessions and fair play to all the boys they are putting in all the hard work which is required.

“But they are also doing their own work behind the scenes, which is brilliant and you can’t question their attitude, they are really professional in everything they are doing and they are just carrying on what they did from last season, so we can’t ask for anything more from the boys at the minute.”

After Saturday’s opening pre-season game was cancelled at the last minute, the squad took part in a training session at Drumahoe, which McLaughlin was very pleased with.

“It would have been nice to have got a game under our belt on Saturday but the boys put in a good shift and it ran on for 1 hour and a half, which is the same time as a game lasts but the boys played at a high intensity, probably higher than the game would have went,” he added.

“So maybe it wasn’t a bad thing that the game was called off but the boys are looking forward to getting some games under their belts because there’s only so much running around the pitch and doggys they can do with getting their feet on the ball in a match situation.

“They have done their hard graft on the training pitch, from circuits to strength and conditioning work, but hopefully over the next few weeks they’ll get their game time.”

McLaughlin also admits that the club are still looking for a few more additions but they’ll not be just signing players just for the sake of it.

“We are always on the lookout for players, if there are players that we feel can come and add something to the squad then they’ll be welcomed.”