Paul Trainor is delighted with the recent injection of new blood at Crumlin Star as the Premier Division’s new league leaders step up their quest for silverware this season.
A James Doyle hat-trick inspired a 5-1 win at Killyleagh on Saturday, with the result, allied to East Belfast’s 2-0 loss at Islandmagee, seeing the two sides swap places at the top.
It’s the first time since the start of the season that Star have found themselves in pole, and while naturally delighted to see his side reach the summit at the halfway stage, Trainor and his men have been here too many times before to take it for granted.
Nevertheless, he reckons the capture of ex-Killyleagh midfielder Jamie Sharvin and former Cliftonville youngster Paul Scullion, both signed over the last fortnight, will provide a timely boost to his squad, not just in terms of numbers but also the quality they possess.
Over the last month or so, the Ardoyne outfit have lost forwards Ciaran Murphy and Dee Fearon, the latter reuniting with Niall Currie at Dundela, so they were all of a sudden a bit light in attack, leaving only Doyle, Stephen Smyth and veteran Miguel Chines.
“I always like to add one or two in January, it freshens it up a bit, but it’s no good bringing players in if they are not going to play, they have to be good enough, either on a par with the rest of the squad or better than them,” explained Trainor.
“Paul came down to training last Tuesday night and didn’t look out of place at all, he’s pacey and has an eye for goal.
“Then everyone knows about Jamie Sharvin, he plays in the middle of the park and he brings a calmness to the game in terms of playing football.
“Joe (McNeill) would be more of a runner, and Kevin (Trainor) is starting to sit a bit more as he gets older, and then we’ve got wee (Sam) McBurney in the middle of the park.
“But Jamie is a quality footballer, he wanted to come and he can weigh in with a few goals, and he can play up front if we need him up there too.”
This week, Star return to Intermediate Cup duty, with Mid Ulster League side Bourneview due at the Cricky.
“I’ve been looking at the stats and they are a good side, we’ve had them watched over the last few weeks, they’re second in their league and winning matches,” said Trainor.
“I think they’ve only lost three this season so that will be a tough assignment on Saturday.
“But all you can ask for in the last 32 is to be at home.”
On Star’s bid to extend their dominance of the Amateur League, and a potential fourth consecutive top flight title, Trainor reckons it will be a tight-run thing.
“I personally think there’s going to be a lot of twists and turns,” he said.
“It’s going to be hard to stay at the top, I don’t think any team will go on a long, long run.
“There’s quality teams there, the East, the Mac – Bru (Brian McCaul) has done a good job there – there’s Ards Rangers and Rathfriland. They have a lot of games to make up, a bit like us in a usual year.
“But we’ve gone the distance a couple of times so we are experienced at it.”
