Niall Currie breaking fresh ground as part of Carrick Rangers goals

In an Irish League career dominated by success outside the senior stage, Currie considers this latest landmark another step forward in his long-term plans with Carrick Rangers.

Currie enjoyed forward momentum at Annagh United, Loughgall and Ards before suffering a setback with his exit from hometown club Portadown during a turbulent period in Shamrock Park history.

His return to the game in 2018 at Carrick offered a chance to rebuild - both on a personal level and for Rangers.

Promotion into the Danske Bank Premiership followed by last season’s eighth-place finish at the end of the coronavirus-affected calculations stand as testaement to his ambition at the head of the Amber Army outfit.

“I’ve gone on record in the past to say how much I owe this club and will do everything I can to repay the faith people at Carrick have shown in me,” said Currie, who recently signed a deal extending his contract until 2023. “I’m grateful for the extension and what that means and am delighted to play my part in helping Carrick move forward.

“We’ve been competitive in terms of players coming in for this season thanks, in part, to the developments around the facilities and it has been commented on by some how impressive everything looks here when they’ve signed.

“The progress at Academy level is wonderful and we’ve been blooding in young players for some time now.

“It’s about setting high standards overall and there is a vision shared around the club and a philosophy of looking at the whole picture I’m certainly enjoying being a part of at Carrick.

“There are realistic expectations and I came into Carrick with a club with so much in place and we want to continue to build.

“We started out with a young squad and they’ve progressed with the benefit of Championship experience and now how we kicked on again last season.

“There remains a league within a league at Premiership level due to the financial levels.

“But I feel we can prove competitive with the clubs around us and have also been able to produce at times in one-off games against the bigger boys.

“We know we can only do that by keeping up the standards of work-rate and togetherness.”

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