Sport

Hutton hopes for upturn in form after ringing changes at City

Peter Hutton is hoping for three points from Friday's clash with Longford Town 
Peter Hutton is hoping for three points from Friday's clash with Longford Town  Peter Hutton is hoping for three points from Friday's clash with Longford Town  (MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN 07711932889)

Airtricity League Premier Division: Derry City v Longford Town (Friday, the Brandywell, 7.45pm)

IT HAS been a case of three in, one out, at the Brandywell this week.

Manager Peter Hutton decided to swap St Patrick’s Athletic’s Conor McCormack for Shane McEleney, while former Tottenham Hotspur starlet Aaron McEneff has signed an 18-month deal and Hutton has appointed Paul Hegarty as his number two.

With the transfer window closing tonight, Hutton will continue to work hard trying to strengthen his squad as well as getting his side ready for Friday evening’s clash with Longford Town. And the City boss is hopeful that all the hard work will kick-start a disappointing season.

“It has been a bit of a hectic week, as has been the norm as late, but I think he has been a very positive week for us,” said Hutton.

“We are delighted Paul has come back, he has been assistant manager here twice before and had good success on both occasions, so hopefully that continues.

“He is well acquainted with the League of Ireland, he knows the vast majority of the squad and has been at most games this season, so he has a fair idea about the team and I think he’ll be a great addition.”

Hutton is also excited about the addition of two promising players to his squad.

“Aaron ticks all the boxes, he’s a young, talented player, who can play in a number of positions and I’m delighted,” he said.

“He has come into training this week and has looked really sharp. We are delighted to get young Conor McCormack and obviously when we had started talks with St Pat’s about Conor, they asked for permission to speak to Shane and with him being out of contract at the end of the season we couldn’t stop him.

“We let them speak and he came back to us and said he liked what they offered and he wanted to go.”

Hutton was also quick to remind everyone that despite the coming and goings, there’s a very important league game, with three much-needed points at stake.

“I know there has been a lot of things going on, but we have remember there’s a huge game and that’s been our main focus,” he said.

“The game has been the main focus on the training ground, the boys have worked hard this week and we had a practice game during the week to work on one or two things.”

Elsewhere in the Premier Division on Friday, Bray Wanderers host champions Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers travel to Drogheda United, Galway United take on St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park and Cork City face free-scoring Bohemians at Turners Cross.

On Saturday night, the bottom two in the league face each other with Limerick hosting Sligo Rovers.

In the First Division leaders Finn Harps, who are looking to bounce back from last Sunday’s defeat at UCD, entertain Athlone Town.