We rested on laurels after Shield glory - Ferguson

GLENN Ferguson admits he has big decisions to make in the coming weeks as he attempts to turn Ballymena United into a major force in Irish League football.
Ballymena United manager Glenn Ferguson. Picture: Press Eye.Ballymena United manager Glenn Ferguson. Picture: Press Eye.
Ballymena United manager Glenn Ferguson. Picture: Press Eye.

Ferguson’s first full season in charge at the Showgrounds concluded with an eight place finish in the Danske Bank Premiership, which tempered the joy of the County Antrim Shield success earlier in the season.

“Was the trophy a softener? To a certain extent it was because we didn’t kick on from that as we should have,” said Ferguson, after his side completed its league campaign with back-to-back home defeats.

“We rested on our laurels – not just the players but probably us (coaches) as well – for maybe six weeks and we paid the price for it so that won’t be allowed to happen again.

“Will we win a trophy next season? Who knows, but I can’t see us getting beaten six, seven and eight again next season.”

Ferguson has admitted that the fact that the majority of Ballymena’s players are still under contract for next season may not be enough to save some from the axe.

“Contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. If players decide they want to go and do something else, they’ll do it. If I feel they’re not prepared to do what we want and the way we want to do it, they’ll be told to go and do something else.

“I’m hoping to bring maybe one more in but there are maybe two, three or four players in contract who are thinking ‘will I be here next season?’ and that is a decision we will have to make over the summer.

“If we feel they are not going to be beneficial to Ballymena United, they’re not going to be here.

“We’ll not make any rash decisions – we’ll sit down as a coaching team and discuss it and identify our targets,” added Ferguson.

Related topics: