Kerley hopes local trio will join Athlone Town
by Kevin O'Neill Updated: Wednesday, 4th January, 2012 5:30pm
ATHLONE Town manager Mike Kerley is hoping to finalise deals for potential new signings Garvan Broughall, Neil Harney and Brian McCarthy over the next few days.
Since his reappointment as Athlone manager for the 2012 season some weeks ago, Kerley made no secret of a wish to bring the local trio back to their home town club.
Both Broughall and McCarthy spent last season with promotion chasing Limerick, while Harney has been with Premier Division St Patrick's Athletic for the past couple of campaigns.
Though Kerley remains largely tight-lipped about new signings, admitting Athlone are currently being outbid for some new players, the Limerick native believes the aforementioned trio could become Athlone players very soon.
"I spoke to the three lads before the Christmas period. They had exams coming up at the time, and it was only right to allow them concentrate on exams. But I hope to meet them and get something sorted in the next few days. From the impressions I get, they seem keen to join Athlone, and want to play for their home town team," Kerley said late last week.
Kerley sees their acquisitions as a potentially big boost to Athlone's playing squad, and appears very keen to enlist their talents.
Broughall made a handful of appearances for Athlone towards the end of the end 2010 league season. He spent the majority of his early playing career in centre midfield or at centre-back, but was utilised at right-back by Pat Scully's Limerick last season. However, Broughall largely found first-team chances at a premium at Limerick, and could see a return to Athlone as a chance to re-ignite his League of Ireland career.
McCarthy was more or less a regular starter for Limerick last season, as the Munster men finished fourth in the First Division. However, with the arrival of Shane Guthrie at Jackman Park, McCarthy's services were deemed surplus to requirements. McCarthy has previously had two spells with Athlone, firstly making his debut in 2006, and has also represented Longford Town and Bohemians. He once underwent a trial period at Atletico Madrid, and his towering presence and experience, despite still being only 23, would assist Athlone's back-line.
Harney was a regular squad member with St Pat's over recent years, but found first-team chances limited at Inchicore.
However, Harney will have garnered much knowledge and experience of important matches while at St Pat's, and was involved in some of the Dublin side's European outings during the course of last season.
Comfortable at right-back, or in the centre of defence, Harney's addition would also be seen as a massive fillip to Athlone.
Before the end of the week, Kerley also hopes to confirm that several of last season's squad are staying put.
He's already had positive indications from Mark Walshe and Kevin Williamson about staying, while Limerick-based trio, Tommy Barrett, Paul Danaher and Jason Hughes, have also intimated a desire to remain at Lissywollen.
Kerley has been in contact with most of last season's squad in relation to remaining at the club, but chose to wait until after Christmas to get solid answers from them.
"That part of it (re-signing players from last season's squad) will hopefully be done this week," said Kerley.
The Town boss has also spoken to "five or six" goalkeepers about filling the void left by Micheál Schlingermann's recent departure to Monaghan Utd.
"I spoke to five or six different 'keepers, but it largely comes down to what we can offer them financially, and to be honest, that's not a great deal at the moment," said Kerley.
Kerley admitted to speaking with Limerick reserve goalkeeper Dave Ryan about signing, but he's been offered a new contract by Limerick and at this moment in time looks unlikely to join Athlone.
Another Limerick native, Brian Collopy, provided back-up to Schlingermann after signing in July, and actually managed to dislodge Schlingermann from his position between the posts for a number of weeks. However, a couple of injuries, including a nasty shoulder knock, ruled Collopy out of the last couple of months of the last campaign. Kerley though, has not ruled out a return for Collopy.
"Basically, I'm looking for an experienced goalkeeper, but we can't rule out anyone because we might not be able to entice a more experienced goalkeeper. A more experienced 'keeper would probably help us in terms of organising the defence a bit better, and I felt there were times last season when we just needed a bit more experience at the back and in goal. Brian Collopy remains an option, but he has to prove he's fit over the coming month or two," said Kerley.
"We have a long list of potential new signings, but just last week were outbid by Finn Harps for a player I thought we definitely had," he continued.
"I've spoken to lots of players, but ultimately it comes down to finance, in most cases, and we're obviously working off a very limited budget," added Kerley.
