New manager for the Roesiders

The man to take the helm will be Neil Mullan, who recently coached local side Newtone to treble winning success in the Ballymena league.

Mullan, a Limavady man who made also played for the Roesiders, is under no illusions about the scale of the task ahead of him. He emphasised that avoiding relegation would be the “be all and the end all.”

Speaking to the Sentinel ahead of his first training session in charge, he said: “I have worked for Limavady United before and I played there as well. I worked under Davy Platt about two years ago.

“I managed Newtone for a while as well where we won the treble in the Ballymena league. I’m a Limavady man and I still live in the town. I’ve been about the club for years - I made my debut there when I was 17 and I played under Tommy Wright in quite a successful team.

“I’ve always kept an eye on Limavady. Obviously the money situation is something that we are going to have to deal with and money is a big thing. You see clubs up and down the country struggling.” He added: “I’m quite aware of what I’ve taken on and what I’m going into.”

Mullan is to take the helm and bring Aidy McLaughlin, who coached the Roesiders last season. New manager Neil Mullan explained: “I’m taking Aidy with me. He did a brilliant job last season keeping them in the league. He is someone I’ve worked with before and he is one of my best friends.”

Asked what the aims for the season were, Mullan replied: “We’re going in now before Christmas so we have a wee bit of time to be able to go in and get the lads shaken up a wee bit and get them back enjoying their football. I’m glad to be going in before Christmas because it means we have six or seven games to get things going and get a look at the players before January.

“Aidy and I have quite good connections so we will maybe be looking at bringing in four or five players. The main aim is to stay in the league - that is the be all and the end all.

“Limavady were a successful team and no-one wants to see them going down.”