*Harvey Cullinan of Newmarket Celtic. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
PREMIER DIVISION champions Newmarket Celtic commence the defence of their title with new additions to their management keen to see the side become less predictable in their style of play.
Having won back the league title in May for the first time since 2023, Newmarket Celtic are determined not to let go of their grip on the trophy.
While the Newmarket-on-Fergus club have not set the world alight in terms of new signings, they crucially haven’t lost any members of their starting eleven which leaves them on a solid platform when setting out to defend their title.
That team includes some of the county’s standout players like Harvey Cullinan, Eoin Hayes and Shane Cusack. It remains to be seen if their dual players like Éanna Crimmins and Liam O’Connor who also line out with the village’s hurlers will return to the fold but Cian McDonagh and Kevin Harnett who are playing football with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and Cratloe are anticipated to be back in red and white over the coming weeks.
Manager Alan Gough has returned for a second season at the helm of Newmarket Celtic and has refreshed his management with the addition of former club players Mike Devitt and Mark O’Malley to his management.
Devitt explained why he agreed to get involved, “I’ll be honest I was away on holidays and Alan rang me, he heard that I had played with the A team before, he asked me would I get involved, I’m back living around so I said I’d give it a go. He was looking for a fresh voice and new ideas, he was trying bring back older guys who were involved previously so I said I’d give it a go for a year”.
An Oscar Traynor winner with Clare in 2004, Mike told The Clare Echo what he hopes to bring to the fold. “I noticed we became a little predictable in games, I suppose what we’re looking at is to change up things internally and not be as predictable and have a Plan B as opposed to relying on Plan A to get us over the line”.
So far, he is enjoying being back in the fold. “I’m really enjoying it, it is different, a good management team, everyone has their own ideas, we’re testing each other and the players”.
Losing to Avenue Utd in extra time stopped Newmarket from winning the Clare Cup final in dramatic fashion. There’s been no talk of trying to bounce back and win a double in the county, Mike said, “We’ve had a good pre-season, we’ve worked hard and trained hard, we haven’t set any targets, the mindset is to take it week to week and one game at a time, if you set targets and things go wrong then the season falls apart quickly. The hunger is there, we’re not setting any targets, we’re just hoping to win each Sunday”.
Starting off the month with a 5-1 loss to the Mick Shiel managed Fairview Rangers in the semi-final of the Munster Champions Cup has underlined the level Newmarket need to return to if they are to become competitive outside the county. “It was the level we were at a few years back, we’ve slipped, we’re not at that level at the moment, we want to get back there, it was a rude awakening, we didn’t perform and we let ourselves down, we need to get to that level ourselves, we’re hoping that is where we will go”.
Within the county, the league champions know they go out with a target on their backs every weekend. “Everyone wants to beat the league champions, Newmarket Celtic has a tradition, every team is different but most of the team will be going out with the mindset of wanting to beat the league champions”.
Only having eight teams in the top tier poses a different challenge, Mike said. “It is disappointing that the Premier Division is gone to eight teams with two teams withdrawing, it makes it a lot more compact and you will need to be on your game every Sunday. There’s going to be less games with the eight team format but we still have to win every week, we can’t afford draws and realistically you need to be winning every week if you want to win the league”.
Newmarket Celtic FC Factfile
Management: Alan Gough (manager), Mark O’Malley (mentor), Mike Devitt (mentor), Aaron Leahy (coach), Aaron Ryan (S&C), Johnny Ryan (goalkeeper coach), Chloe McNamara (medic), Owen McCarthy (kitman),
Captain: Jack Kelly
Vice Captain: Conor McDaid.
Key Player: Shane Cusack
One to watch: Ryan Kelly
Fresh blood: Harry James, Cody Waller, Messiah Chirwa, Ryan Kelly, Alan Kelly, Conor McCarthy, Henrique Alexandre Sousa, Casey Dillon.
Departures Gate: Denis Dluha, Dermot Gannon.
Treatment table: Ian Collins (ACL), Gary Leahy (achilles).
Last season’s run: Won the Premier Division, lost the Clare Cup final, reached the Munster Junior Cup semi-final.
