Collins not rushing to sign players

With clubs already securing signings for next season, new Derry City boss Roddy Collins insisted that ‘there is no panic’ in bringing players to the Brandywell.

Speaking at his first press conference in charge of the Candystripes, the 52 year-old stated that the squad will need an injection of new players, with several players expected to depart during the off-season.

He said: “There are additions needed to the squad. I will be sitting down with every member of the squad, and chatting with Peter (Hutton), but from what I’ve seen, there will be additions. There won’t be anything major, but I hope to improve in certain areas.”

While maintaining that players are needed, Collins was reluctant to discuss his targets, though one player that will be joining Derry City though, is Collins’ son, Roddy Jnr, who was part of the Athlone Town side that won promotion last season. Aside from that, Collins mentioned no names but said that the players he signs will ‘have to be of a certain quality.’

“There are three players that I would bring to Derry tomorrow; Ronan Finn, Gary McCabe and a young, unknown striker. That’s all. There are very few great players, but teams say they have these great players because some manager triples their money and tells them they’re great”, he said.

He continued to say: “There will be no players that will come in and fill their pockets. Some of them couldn’t get a kick at Derry City, lads that think they’re players. I’m here because I’m hungry, and I’m not going to sit with players that are only here because they’re getting an extra £50 a week. Those players won’t last.

“There’s no rush to get players in although we definitely need them. You don’t bring players in to fill a dressing room, and you don’t want players that won’t contribute in any way.”

One player that fans will be hoping to keep is goal-machine Rory Patterson, who is now out of contract, but Collins said that he will open discussions with the former Northern Ireland striker.

“Of course I will be speaking to Rory. He’s away at the minute, but when he gets back, he’ll be a priority. Anyone that gets you that many goals, you don’t let them leave the club.”

With Derry having produced exciting talents such as Republic of Ireland star James McClean, and current players Barry McNamee, Ryan McBride and the McEleney brothers, Collins said that the club’s policy of promoting from within would definitely continue.

“Any player you can get for nothing, especially a local player to come through the ranks, makes things easy for the management. If you look throughout my career, I have no problem putting kids in. I’m not a manager for spending money, so if I see a kid that can be developed, you’ll know what he’s capable, by his physical condition and his enthusiasm.”