‘The situation at Ballymoney is looking grim’ - Cairns

The season hasn’t yet got underway but already the situation at Ballymoney United is causing concern. The small squad has been further depleted with four or five players deciding to move on leaving manager Peter Cairns and his assistant Robert McCaw with a difficult situation.
UNITED. Ballymoney Utd Manager, Peter Cairns along with players at a training session on Thursday night.INBM28-15 109SC.UNITED. Ballymoney Utd Manager, Peter Cairns along with players at a training session on Thursday night.INBM28-15 109SC.
UNITED. Ballymoney Utd Manager, Peter Cairns along with players at a training session on Thursday night.INBM28-15 109SC.

Cairns was up front at the end of last season and agreed to stay if Ballymoney planned to seriously fight back and win promotion, however, the loss of players and the lack of motivation has him questioning his decision.

“We have been back a couple of weeks and to be honest things have been slow to get going. Some of the players are filtering back but I am disappointed that some players have moved on.

“I thought they might have given the club another season and that it was a bit early for them to jump ship. We had a lot of young players and it disappoints me that they have left especially when you look at the way Ballymoney United invest in youth through the academy. We also have other players don’t seem to know where they want to be. There’s the draw for them of playing in Championship 2 so it’s not an easy situation, we are a small squad and to lose four or five players leaves a big gap.

“It’s hard for Robert and myself and we have talked about things. I’m not someone who hides things and I am not prepared to go through what I did last season. I love football but there comes a time when you ask yourself is the stress and hassle worth it. It looks pretty grim at the moment.

“I will give it a month and see how things work out. I don’t want to see Ballymoney not having a team and I will do all I can to get players. You can’t force people to play or to sign for a club but I will keep pushing on. There’s no doubt it will be a long month, we are taking it a step at a time. I’m not starting to panic just yet.”