By Jonathan Brown
Paddy Mulholland is preparing for his first full season as manager of Newcastle Town after taking over from Ryan McConville at the start of the year. Mulholland bolstered his background team ahead of the new season, bringing in Newcastle native and Rathfriland stalwart Jonathan Scannell, with Scannell joining as assistant player-manager.
Pre-season began on 19 June with Mulholland’s charges testing themselves in friendly games against higher-tier opposition in the form of Rathfriland and Kilmore Rec, rounding off preparations with a 2-2 draw against Lisburn outfit Lower Maze. A number of Newcastle-based players have returned to the club, including Jack Deery from Newry City and Lewis Casement from Drumaness Mills, while Scannell has brought Jack Graham with him from Rathfriland. There are also plans to integrate several players from last season’s title-winning U-19 team, including Conal King, Caolan Doyle, Darrach McLaughlin, Shea Baker, Zach Curran, and Paddy’s son Kian Mulholland.
Mulholland said he’s glad to have homegrown players back at the club and is content with the squad at his disposal. “There’s a lot of quality players over the years that just never really settled here (Newcastle) and moved on to other clubs, now they’re starting to filter back into the team, so we’re lucky to have them. We’ve got a good core of a team there from last year as well, and for the level we’re at in 1B, we’re pretty well stocked to compete this year.”
One of the biggest game-changers this season, according to the former Newcastle player, is the completion of the 4G pitch at Donard Park, meaning the Seasiders now have a permanent training facility for the first time in many years. “To have those facilities after all the years of pitch-sharing and training in different towns like Downpatrick, Castlewellan, Kilkeel and wherever else, is massive. There’s no excuses for anybody anymore, it will benefit us massively,” Mulholland explained.
When Mulholland took over from McConville last season, Town had lost 16 games across league and cup competitions from August to December, leading the new manager to prioritise consistency in his team selection, something he believes will be key again in the upcoming campaign. “That was the big change I made last year when I took over, having the same 16 or 17 players to choose from every week, so you weren’t changing too much. That definitely set us up for a good run-in towards the end of the year. This league is all about consistency, it’s about keeping everybody fit, available, and committed throughout the year.”
Mulholland added that the locals “have the beating” of most teams in the 1B league, but says getting off to a better start than last year will be of vital importance. “We have the beating of a lot of teams in that league, it’s just about showing up every week and having the players available that you need to do the job. We only won one of our first eight games last season, so if we can improve on that, we’ll definitely give ourselves a chance of pushing up the league. So we’re hoping for a good start, then we’ll see where it takes us.”
According to Mulholland, he has enough quality in his squad to challenge for promotion to 1A. “We definitely have the quality to do it (get promoted) but we have to show it on the pitch. You can’t promise anything in this league but we’re not daunted by 1B at all, we’re excited by the challenge, we’re going to stand up and give it a good go.”
With Ballynahinch Olympic and Killyleagh both relegated from Amateur League 1A last season, Mulholland is looking forward to a few local derbies over the course of the next nine months. “There’s a few local derbies there, so it’s a lot more exciting this year and that’ll give us a bit of impetus to finish higher than the teams in the area.”
Read previews of all the Intermediate teams whose seasons begin next week, including details of players who are coming in and out.
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