Niall Currie's 'diamond' approach to transfer market as he shares recruitment strategy

Niall Currie has hailed the impact of Shane Dolan at Portadown as he shared the club's recruitment strategy ahead of the January transfer window.

The Ports' stellar season continued on Saturday with a 2-0 win over nine-man Cliftonville.

Ryan Mayse and Ahu Obhakhan got the goals to lift Currie's side up to fourth in the Irish Premiership table.

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It has been an incredible rise from the Shamrock Park outfit who only earned promotion to the top flight last season.

Saturday's win was Portadown's first in 11 years over the Reds, and their first in 24 games, an abysmal record which included 22 defeats.

A large part of their revival is down to Dolan, who Currie appointed in the summer as Head of Player Recruitment within the Republic of Ireland.

Dolan played for Portadown in 2017, and also featured for clubs including Ballymena United, Carrick Rangers, Warrenpoint Town, Ards and Donegal Celtic, as well as Drogheda United, Athlone Town and Shelbourne in the League of Ireland.

"Currie told the BBC: "The club has been fantastic and given us a real chance, not only to come back to the Premiership but to compete. It is all about the recruitment and it's a big thanks to Shane Dolan who came in as head of recruitment in the Republic of Ireland and he has brought us a couple of diamonds, and we have a couple more diamonds coming in January.

"That's what we have to do. We can't compete in this market or go to Scotland and England. There are plenty of diamonds down south and Shane is helping us bring them here.

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"As for the current standings, I don't worry about the table. I tell the players to stay humble and understand why we are doing well. And that's because we are an honest team.

"We also have quality and young players, a wonderful goalkeeper and super Gary Thompson who is still an unbelievable player."

Mayse gave Portadown an early lead on Saturday, and Cliftonville's afternoon got worse when Conor Pepper was dismissed before the break for two bookable offences.

Jim Magilton's visitors were then reduced to nine men when Jonny Addis received a straight red in the 44th minute when he pulled back Eamon Fyfe who looked destined to score.

Obhakhan poured more salt on the wounds when he doubled Portadown's lead in first-half stoppage time.

"We're not just delighted, we're surprised. But the objectives don't change. We want to stabilise the club, which I'm sure you have heard before," Currie added.

"We're a decent side when we're at it, and the bottom line is when we work hard. I am a great believer in the first 15-20 minutes are important in terms of game plan, and we came out of the changing room full on. We had energy and enthusiasm and a high work ethic.

"If you're still champing at the bit after 20 minutes then we have players who can hurt teams. And we have that creativity. Shay McCartan has been out for three or four weeks and Ben Wylie has come in and done well.

"Credit goes to all the players today."

The Ports boss added: "The players have been a credit to the club, and we deserved it today. We went to Linfield a couple of weeks back and were disappointed with the defeat there.

"We will stay humble and grounded. We are in a good place. It is important we stay honest and understand why we are in the position we're in, and that's because we are a hard-working team and our team is together."

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