CLIFTONVILLE boss Jim Magilton admits it is a lifetime ambition to manage in Europe and is looking forward to making his bow as a manager next Wednesday night when his Cliftonville side enter the Second Qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

The former NI international was part of an Ipswich Town side that played in the UEFA Cup in the early 2000s and Magilton acknowledged that it was an enjoyable experience.

“It’s a lifetime ambition of mine to manage in Europe and I get the opportunity to do it with Cliftonville. I’m very excited and very proud and really looking forward to the challenge,” admits Magilton.

“I waited long enough, obviously I’d be an international for quite a number of years but to play again at club level and to do it two seasons on the trot was fantastic. I loved it and really enjoyed it. it was great and Ipswich have a very proud tradition of playing in Europe.

“They won the Cup Winners Cup back in the day. It was fantastic and I embraced it totally. I loved the opportunity to go and play and it was a very exciting time at the club”.
Magilton hoped to run his eye over potential opponents Auda and B36 Torshavn in Latvia last week but was unable to given the difficult nature of travel mixed in with the busy schedule.

Latvian outfit Auda hold a 2-0 advantage ahead of this evening’s second leg in the Faroe Islands and regardless of who makes it through to face the Reds, Magilton insists his management team will do their due diligence and is looking forward to welcoming their opponents to North Belfast on Wednesday evening.

“It was planes, trains and automobiles to get there, so it was a pretty busy schedule,” Magilton revealed.

“We managed to get the game; we watched the opposition. Torshavn were expected to win the game or so they told us. I’m not sure it was a surprising result – but we’ll see what happens in the second leg and then as we will do for every game, we’ll do our due diligence on the opposition, and we look forward to a big night at Solitude”.

Having lost an array of attacking talent in the close season, Cliftonville completed the signing of free-agent Rory Donnelly. 

Donnelly returns for his third spell at the club having departed Glentoran upon his contract expiring. 

Magilton believes that he offers experience, a wealth of knowledge and is hopeful that he will help guide the younger players at the club. 

“He’s got great experience and a wealth of knowledge of the league,” he added. 

“He’s always had quality and as a centre-froward he will bring goals. We had many conversations through the summer, and he is extremely determined to do well. It doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s all about what you say to me that makes the difference. He will help guide the younger players as well. Great experience, he always had great quality and we’re looking forward to working with him”. 

Magilton is hopeful to bring in further additions before next Wednesday but explained that it is difficult to assess potential signings in action. 

“It’s constant and daily 24/7,” Magilton said. “The problem with lots of this is that you don’t get the opportunity to see players live. You’re guided by agents and guided by footage and that’s always difficult. It’s very difficult to then assess players. 

“It’s about conversations with players and when the right one comes along the board have been fantastic and I expect it to remain the same. We have the full support of the board to go and select who we want to bring into the club to make us better.” 

The Reds boss is hopeful that Rory Hale will be able to shake off an ankle ligament injury that saw him depart the Charity Shield clash with Larne and gave an update on other injury concerns. 

“Kris Lowe is still a bit stop-start in pre-season, we’re trying to get him back on the pitch to get him minutes,” Magilton explained. 

“Rory is carrying an injury and Casey is still longer-term. They are three important players for us. Rory probably has a better chance than the other two, so we will assess him over the weekend, and we’ll make a judgement for Wednesday.”