Place confirmed as remaining at Athlone Town helm

ATHLONE Town FC have this week officially confirmed Brendan Place will remain as first-team manager for the 2010 League of Ireland season. And the Town are also believed to be on the verge of announcing two major additions to their first-team squad in former Dundalk goalkeeper Chris Bennion and experienced defender/midfielder Stephen Caffrey. Although manager Brendan Place was not in a position to comment on individual signings this week, the Town boss indicated he's close to finalising a couple of "interesting signings". It's thought that Bennion, who won the First Division with Dundalk two years ago and was their regular netminder in the top flight last season, and former Bohemians star Caffrey, who last played League of Ireland football with Sporting Fingal, are high on his list of targets. Athlone hope to unveil a couple of new acquisitions before the end of the week, with Place saying: "I've been working hard on improving the squad and hope to be in a position to unveil a couple of interesting signings in the next few days." Bennion, 29, hails originally from Edinburgh and was on the books at Middlesbrough and then Scunthorpe Utd before moving to Ireland with Shelbourne. Although only playing ten times for Shelbourne, Bennion picked up a Premier Divisions winners' medal in 2003 before signing for Dundalk, where he made over 150 appearances and won the 2008 First Division title. Bennion would be highly regarded within the Irish game and is a commanding physical presence at 6ft 2in, and, if signed, would surely alleviate the goalkeeping problems Athlone experienced throughout the course of last season. Caffrey, 34, is also a vastly experienced League of Ireland performer having won league titles with Bohemians and also played for Glenavon in Northern Ireland. He formed a solid partnership with Kevin Hunt in the centre of Bohs' midfield and played a huge part in the Gypsies' League and Cup double in 2001. Caffrey added a second league winners' medal to his collection as Bohs regained the league title in 2002/2003. Although mainly a combative midfielder during his most successful years in the league, it's expected Place is looking at Caffrey as the ideal partner for Des Hope at the heart of Athlone's defence.It was widely accepted for weeks that Place would remain at the helm for a further season and, indeed, the manager has himself spoken in recent weeks about player recruitment for next season. However, the club felt an official statement was necessary at this point and are now looking forward to working with Place for at least another season. Club chairman Tony Knight said this week: "Athlone Town FC is delighted to officially confirm that Brendan Place is staying with the club for the 2010 league season. Both parties feel it's very much in the best interests of the club for Brendan to remain in charge. This time last year we were all very concerned and worried about whether the club would survive due to its difficult financial situation. Despite results not always going our way last season, we feel the team has progressed under Brendan and that the club is far better off now. The club needs stability and continuity for a sustained period of time and Brendan remaining at the club is integral to this. We are currently in the process of getting the club back on a sound financial footing with the ambition of being in a position to challenge for promotion to the Premier Division in the coming years." The chairman said that Place is "working day and night" to add quality new signings to his squad and that news will emerge on this front in the coming weeks. Knight also said the club had a successful season in terms of consistently paying its players and management. "That was one of the main success stories of the season. Everyone was paid on time," said Knight.