| New signing brings zest to Sligo Rovers |
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| Wednesday, 02 January 2008 | |
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SLIGO Rovers fans have probably heard it all before - new signings make bold promises and what have you - but the club’s first close season capture, Dubliner Anthony ‘Anto’ Murphy, has vowed to do his bit for the Bit O’Red in 2008.
by: Liam Ó Maoldhomhnaigh, courtesy of the Sligo Weekender If the versatile right-sided defender, a runner-up with Dublin giants St Patrick’s Athletic in this year’s FAI eircom League Premier Division, brings his refreshing attitude to bear on the pitch next season then Sligo Rovers manager, Paul Cook, will have signed a potential gem. “I was happy to go to Sligo,” he explained after signing a two-year contract last week, “I had the ambition to go full-time and after talking to Paul Cook I knew he wanted to bring the club in the right direction.” The 25-year-old’s long-standing friendship with Sligo Rovers’ left-back Keith Foy, plus a gradual disillusionment with life at Inchicore’s Richmond Park, provided Sligo Rovers with the chance to swoop. Murphy’s part-time contract with St Pat’s expired last month. He had been juggling work commitments - he is a plumber by profession - with the demands of training alongside full-time pros and it got too much. Ultimately, Murphy, who hails from Dublin’s north inner city, believed that the strain of training and working hindered his first-team opportunities. He made 13 appearances in 2007, including a fine showing in his then club’s 4-0 whipping of Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds in April - a game Paul Cook watched from the main stand before his appointment as first-team coach almost a week later. The range of Murphy’s roles - he is most comfortable as a full-back or wing-back but can also operate as an orthodox right-sided midfielder and in central midfield - should make him a key member of a squad reduced by the loss of influential players such as Chris Turner and Adam Hughes. With this year’s goal threat hinging mainly on top scorers Fahrudin Kuduzovic and Matthew Judge, Murphy’s goal sense - he scored 10 times in all competitions in 2007 - is a further bonus. |
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