Ballinamallard manager Gavin Dykes
BALLINAMALLARD United have signed former Carrick Rangers player Sean Noble with manager Gavin Dykes confirming that he has two more new recruits on the way.
Noble is a 21-year-old wide player, who has also had spells at Waterford United and Bray Wanderers, and joins the Ferney club following the arrival of Ryan O’Reilly who played his second game in the 1-0 defeat to Dungannon Swifts.
“I have signed Sean Noble who is a wide player and can play up front. He was at Carrick last year,” said Dykes. “We have agreed terms with two other players but until I have them on paper I am not going to say who they are. And I’m hoping to bring one more in as well.
“The board have worked very hard to get some money together so we can attract players and I believe if we get that done and get a bit of a run going it’ll change. It will change if we keep doing what we did today. It’s important that people walk out the gate and felt that we put a lot of heart into it.
“I couldn’t fault the players today.
“I thought O’Reilly was excellent, Matty Smyth, it’s getting better and we didn’t lose ground on Carrick.
“O’Reilly will get better, I have been chasing him for a long, long time.”
Dykes said he felt his team had deserved something out of Tuesday’s game but after yet another defeat admitted he would be glad to see the back of 2017.
He, too, acknowledged the magnitude of Friday’s bottom-two clash with Carrick Rangers at the Belfast Loughshore Hotel Arena (Kick-off:19:45).
“I’m gutted for the players, gutted for the people up here if I’m honest,” he added.
“I can’t ask much more I thought today we were pretty good.
“But look we have got to push on. I keep saying it, we have to keep positive.
“I won’t tell you a lie it’s been a tough year, a very tough year for me.
“I didn’t expect to be where we are but we are where we are and I can’t wait to see 2018.
“Our target it to try and get Carrick and nothing else matters. We are five points behind them, there is a lot of football to go. We play them on Friday night, it’s a big game, a massive game.”