Ballymena United boss David Jeffrey ready for kick-off

Ballymena United manager David Jeffrey is looking forward to the start of the new danske bank Premiership as his side travel to Dungannon Swifts on Saturday afternoon.
Ballymena United manager David JeffreyBallymena United manager David Jeffrey
Ballymena United manager David Jeffrey

The Sky Blues manager has shuffled his deck over the summer with nine new players coming in, while some have departed and the former Linfield manager is pleased with the business he has done.

“I’m very pleased,” said Jeffrey. “We wanted to change the dynamic of the squad and we have a lot of younger players who have a real enthusiasm and desire to learn and improve.

“To be honest, we’d been planning it since Christmas.

“You’re always assessing things and we looked at the profile of the squad and felt we wanted a younger age group.

“We gave chief scout Paul McAreavey the task of indentifying younger players who wanted to embrace what we’re trying to do here and he deserves an incredible amount of credit. That then allowed Bryan McLaughlin and I to persuade those players that Ballymena is where they should play their football and progress their careers.

“Dungannon will be a tough start, but then experience tells you every game in this league is tough. No doubt about that.”

Also today Coleraine - who finished second behind Coleraine last season host Warrenpoint Town.

Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney will be hoping his side can get their league campaign up and running but Warrenpoint are a tough nut to crack.

In the game of the dayGlenavon host Linfield at Mourneview Park.

Lurgan Blues boss Gary hamilton will be looking for a home win, while Linfield boss David Healy will want a positive start after the disappointment of last season.

In the other games Glentoran host Cliftonville, Institute tackle Newry City and Crusaders face Ards on Monday night.