Phil McDonagh reckons Lisburn Rangers are ahead of schedule after back-to-back derby wins over Dunmurry Rec lifted them up into seventh in 1A.
The former Dromara and Comber chief was only appointed at Stanley Park on the eve of the new season, and inherited a club once more in transition and dogged by the turnover of players which comes with managerial instability.
So expectations were always modest, with mere safety in the division the only obvious target he was set.
But six points from six in the new year has buried any chance the Gers could get sucked into a dogfight at the wrong end of the table, and instead opens up the very real prospect of a top-six finish, with sixth-placed Albert Foundry next up this weekend.
With 1A effectively splitting into two tiers, the top five all gunning for honours, the rest left with scraps, it’s a matter of personal pride now for Lisburn Rangers.
For McDonagh, however, it’s also about setting down foundations; to make the club attractive to players and show that they have ambition to not just make up the numbers, but to challenge in the near future.
As he proved at Comber and Dromara, two clubs to which he dedicated himself for the last decade or so, he tends to be patient with his teams, to stick around and build something, and he hopes to do the same at Stanley Park.
“I’m enjoying it here and I knew it was going to be a big challenge,” said McDonagh.
“I knew too, because I came in so late, that at that stage, trying to get players would be very, very difficult.
“I was well aware of the situation and that the only thing they wanted was to stay in the league and build for next season.
“So basically, we’ve done a lot better than that, and everyone is pleased with how things are going.
“But we need to build on that. On our day, when we put out our starting XI, our strongest team, we can compete with anyone in the league.
“But it’s outside of that, our strength-in-depth, we need to look at that, and we need to bring in a few more quality players.
“So we are working hard at that, but we are realistic too, whether it’s next season or the season after.
“The committee are very aware it’s going to take time, but it’s a very, very ambitious club, they’ve big, big plans, planning permission in for new facilities, new changing rooms, new clubhouse, a 4G pitch, and that’s at the latter stages.
“So that’s what attracted me, the ambition at the club. It’s a good club and there’s a good catchment area there for players.
“We believe we are going in the right direction and that we’ll be challenging sooner rather than later.”
Summer recruit Thomas Burns was on target as McDonagh’s men edged Dunmurry Rec 1-0 at Ashley Park on Saturday.
“The six points are massive for us,” added the Lisburn chief.
“When you play teams back-to-back, it’s difficult, I don’t like it, the first game was quite feisty, a great match, we beat them 3-2 and they were up for it, looking revenge.
“It’s not often you do it back-to-back, so I was very pleased.”
