Manager Brian Barry-Murphy on securing the services of highly-sought after Eoghan O’Connell…
BBM is delighted the deal has been concluded: “It has been a difficult circumstance due to Eoghan’s previous Club because it’s not a normal circumstance to be in," said the Boss.
“The fact that he became available to acquire was a surprise to me in a lot of ways, but once I became aware of it, I was keen to jump in and get him on board.
“We feel as though we have a very strong group of players, generally speaking, but that there were specific areas that needed strengthening from outside of the Club. That [the right-sided centre-half position] was the number one priority and Eoghan was the number one target.
“If I’m being honest, for a lot of the summer, I didn’t think we would be able to acquire him, but the fact that it’s come to fruition is testament to his commitment towards us, and his view on where his career needs to go and how he sees his journey developing with us. It’s very exciting for everybody at the Club - he’s going to be a very exciting player who can do the job exceptionally well.”
He continued: “I’ve known Eoghan for a long period of time. I’ve monitored his career since he was a very young player and I know the heights that he’s scaled already in his time with Celtic. For whatever reason, the last couple of years have not been what he wants, but we’re very confident that we can play in a style that will enhance him and help him to get his career back on track.
“He’s very ambitious and his ambition is something that really excites me. There were a lot of opportunities for him to go elsewhere, and no doubt there were better financial options, but he has shown a hunger to come and join our Club. He also has an admiration for a lot of our players which is very exciting. It was one of the positions that we were very keen to recruit in because we felt it was key for us, and Eoghan fits the bill of what we want. It’s a great acquisition, in my opinion.”