Manager Brian Barry-Murphy on the return of Ryan McLaughlin to the Club…
McLaughlin signed a one-year deal on Monday.
“In terms of profiling for each position, we have a certain criteria that we want to meet. When we compared what was available to us, against all of the different constraints within that, then Ryan was still very much the best value option that we could find,” said BBM.
“We didn’t feel the fact that he has been with us before should be held against him. In fact, we see it as a positive in that we know him very well. The biggest question mark that people will have against Ryan is his ability to be on the football pitch and play. We believe that we have an idea of what is required to make that happen.
“It is unfair to associate last season with his previous seasons, because when he has had injury issues, they have mostly been muscle injuries. Last season, there was no way he, or we, could have prepared for a tackle in the last game of pre-season that injured him and a serious foot condition that came out of nowhere. It was one of those things that could happen to anybody and it wasn’t a reflection on what he did in his training programme. His dedication, commitment and connection with our fitness team, which has been brilliant in the period since lockdown, has shown us that he is over his injury woes and we’re certain that he will be fit to play a major part in the season.
“He is a big part of the squad, he has great leadership qualities and he’s brilliant with the younger players. He can also add the vital speed element to the team, and we feel he can only enhance our team as we build and add to the squad in these very early stages.”