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'Lego' keen on rebuild at Carrick

AFTER two nightmare years with injury Ciaran Donaghy is happy to be dubbed the "new Ledley King" around Taylor's Avenue.

Now with Irish Cup hopefuls Carrick Rangers, the 31-year-old central defender is eager to make up for lost time.

After starring in the heart of the Cliftonville defence a few seasons ago Donaghy developed the curse of all injuries: knee tendinitis.

Throw in a hernia operation and a snapped knee tendon and the IFA development coach kissed goodbye to two precious years of his career.

Donaghy, who turns 32 at the end of this month, left Solitude for Taylor's Avenue in September and was back on the field at the turn of the year.

"The last couple of years were a horrible time," says Donaghy. "It was gutwrenching being at a club and watching your team-mates lift trophies - winning the league, playing in cup finals and playing Celtic in the Champions League...

"I remember having dreams when I was injured - just going out for a jog. It was that bad."

Donaghy, nicknamed 'Lego', finally put his injury woes behind him and came through Cliftonville's pre-season with flying colours. But he knew the chances of displacing the club's first choice central defensive pairing of Jaimie McGovern and Marc Smyth were remote.

"I wouldn't have expected to get back into that Cliftonville side any time soon having been out for nearly two years.

"Jaimie [McGovern] and Marc [Smyth] came in and have been exceptional for the club. I just wanted to get back playing regularly and I wasn't going to do that at Cliftonville, so thankfully I managed to sort a club out and I'm back playing. I've got that Ledley King tag about me now!"

After enjoying a spell with Donegal Celtic, Donaghy returned to Solitude for a second spell with Cliftonville and emerged as a key player.

"One of the seasons I won the player of the year award. That was the first year that Boycie was coming through and Geordie [McMullan] got a call-up to the Northern Ireland team and I was playing well.

"But I think that was the start of the downward spiral when the knee really started to play up and then I got a hernia. It was one thing after the other.

"But I never thought of packing it in because you look at some of the boys still playing in the Irish League. There are a few players of a ripe old age, so I always felt if I could get fit I had a few more years in me."

Leading the way at the top of The Championship alongside Bangor, Carrick find themselves just 90 minutes away from a place in the Irish Cup quarter-finals when they travel to Dixon Park this afternoon to face Ballyclare Comrades, a side they dismissed 4-2 in a league encounter earlier this season.

While Carrick boss Gary Haveron can be relatively pleased with being paired with Championship rivals Ballyclare in today's sixth round, Donaghy would have preferred one of the top sides.

"I wanted to test myself against the best teams. But Ballyclare gives us a chance of getting through to the next round of the cup.

"We just want to keep the momentum going. We've won our last four games and scored three in each of those games so whether it's a league game or cup game we'll approach it in the same manner. I'd love to lift The Championship title this year and, who knows, with a bit of luck the Irish Cup... Fingers crossed, I'd love to play in the Premiership with Carrick next season."

* FOND MEMORIES: Ciaran Donaghy (top, third from left) celebrates after scoring a last-gasp winner against Linfield for Cliftonville in the 2009 Irish Cup semi-final, while (bottom) he tussles for possession with the Reds' Mark Holland during his spell with Donegal Celtic. After leaving the Reds to rebuild his career following an injury nightmare, the centre-half is now enjoying his time at Carrick Rangers

Picture: Pacemaker