'Our ambition is to be near the top of the Premier Division next year' - McConnell

Letterkenny Rovers manager Stephen McConnell will hope that his side can see the rest of the season out undefeated as they aim to capture the First Division title this weekend against Donegal Town. 

The Letterkenny club hasn’t lost a game all season, with them only dropping two points to Glenea United back in November. 

And with three games left to play, they currently sit on 43 points, with Bonagee United right behind them on 37 points with two games to play. 

But with a superior goal difference, it looks almost certain that the league title will go to McConnell’s side this season, but the Letterkenny manager wants just one more point to officially confirm them as champions. 

“I know Bonagee are right behind us and can actually finish level with us in terms of points but it’s in our favour a little bit considering we’re 43 goals better than them, so unless they get 43 goals in their last two games, I hope we’ll be okay,” McConnell said tongue-in-cheek.  

“Look we’re very happy where we’re at, we clinched promotion on Sunday, but we haven’t clinched the league just yet, we still need that final point. But I couldn’t ask for any more off these lads, we have three games left in the league season and we only dropped two points all year, so you have to be happy with that. 

“Also, it’s important to say that we’re still in every competition apart from the FAI Junior Cup, so that’s really positive. In fairness we have had a great buy-in from all the players, we’ve had big numbers at training and a lot of players contributing to the team at games, so we’re reaping the advantage of a big squad by having a good team selection.” 

McConnell further praises the effort his players have given the team all season, citing the big numbers at training as a massive motivation for players to be pushing for places and raise their standards and performance levels. 

“I’ve said it all season, what’s coming off our bench is as good as what’s on the field and that makes it so much easier for a manager, and you can see that with the results, these boys need very little managing, they’re a great bunch and we’re just going to try to finish the season off now with a league trophy.” 

But McConnell notes that his side is not stopping there and is hoping to be a thorn in the side of other Premier Division teams next season as they look to push for the top trophy in Donegal football. 

“The Premier Division is where we want to be,” McConnell said. “Two years ago, we won the Division 2 league, which we won on our first season after returning to Donegal Junior football from the Ulster Senior League. 

“We came fifth last season in this league, which was slightly upsetting, but we saw a lot of positives by getting to the Brian McCormack Cup final and winning the Shield, so we knew there was enough in us to get promoted this year as long as we had the belief to go for it.  

“On top of that, we had a lot of players that have come to play for us this season and they have just lifted the spirits of the club because there’s boys now pushing for places and that only adds competition which ultimately raises the standards at training too. 

“We’re not going to stop here now that we’re promoted, our target will be to try and be up near the top of the Premier Division next season. I like to think we’ll give a good account of ourselves. Our ambition, no matter what league we’re in, is to win it and we’re aiming for that next year hopefully.”