Jenkins relishing move to United

The Sky Blues’ new Scottish signing turned his back on the offer of a new full-time deal with Greenock Morton to try his luck on the other side of the Irish Sea after a career in his homeland which has seen him play in the Scottish Premier League with Gretna.

“I’m delighted to get everything done and dusted,” the 29-year-old told Times Sport.

“I’m heading off for a short break and when I come back, I’m looking to focus on being in good condition for the start of pre-season.

“I’m really excited about it. Roy (Walker) and the Board at Ballymena have done an awful lot for me to help make this happen and I’m very mindful about not letting anybody down.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play Scottish football for 13 years, the last six of them as a full-time player.

“I’ve won the third division, the second division twice and the first division and I don’t think I’m ever going to get the chance to win the Scottish Premier League so I wanted a new challenge.

“Morton offered me a new deal but I didn’t want another year of playing against the same teams I’ve played against throughout my career.”

Jenkins’ decision to quit his homeland was made easier by glowing recommendations from his new team-mate, close friend and now travelling companion Gary McCutcheon and also by ex-Ballymena striker Kevin Kelbie, who played alongside him at Morton last season.

“I’m very friendly with Gary and he spoke very highly of Ballymena and it was the same with Kevin.

“I actually came over for a midweek game against Coleraine during the season and was really impressed with the facilities and the way the people went about their business but particularly with Roy and his views on football and the way he conducted himself.

“With giving up full-time football, I don’t actually have a job at the minute so I intend to come over for pre-season - I think it’s important to get to know the boys. I’ve been part-time before, when I was at Stranraer, when I was also a football development officer in the area, so I would hope to maybe get back into that line of work again.

“I just want to have a successful season, whatever that means for Ballymena, be it winning a trophy or finishing as high up the table as possible. I don’t really think you should make too many predictions but the one thing I can guarantee is that Ballymena will get 110 per cent effort from me,” added Jenkins.

United boss Roy Walker admits he is delighted with the capture of Jenkins - a signing which must rate among the biggest in recent seasons in terms of the level at which he has played.

“It’s something we’ve been working on for some time and I’m delighted to finally get it over the line,” Walker told Times Sport.

“If you were to write the brief for the type of midfield player we were after - leadership qualities, experience, at an age where he is at the peak of his powers - it is as a good a signing as you could possibly wish to make.

“I want to thank the club who have backed me from day one when Allan first came over - they simply said ‘if he is your main target, if you can get him, get him.

“We had John Blair, Davy Blair, Robert Cupples and Nigel McIlrath waiting to meet Allan as he came off the boat and he was thrilled and so was I.”

Walker hopes to complete three more signings this week, saying: “I would hope to have two more in the bag by the middle of the week, the other won’t be completed until the latter part of the week for purely logistical reasons.”