Conor McMenamin's Move to Glentoran: Best for Everyone

Ruaidhri Higgins has called Conor McMenamin’s abrupt switch from Coleraine to Glentoran “best for everyone” after a whirlwind 10 weeks that never quite settled on the north coast.

McMenamin signed from St Mirren in June, arrived with pedigree and expectation, and is now gone before autumn has even properly arrived. The deal that took the Northern Ireland winger to the Oval also sent midfielder Joe Thomson in the opposite direction to the Showgrounds, a late-window swap that reshaped Coleraine’s squad and, in truth, suited all parties.

Speaking after collecting the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association’s manager of the month award for August, Higgins didn’t try to dress it up.

“Sometimes in football and just life in general, things don't go as expected or according to plan,” he said, echoing McMenamin’s own verdict that “it wasn't meant to be” at Coleraine. “It's certainly not a personal issue with Conor at all.”

For McMenamin, 31, the problem was never about the dressing room. It was the road. The winger had already spoken about his inability to commit to relocating from Downpatrick to the north coast, stressing that family and personal matters sat at the heart of his decision.

Higgins understood. The daily slog from Downpatrick to Coleraine – roughly 75 miles, about 90 minutes each way – quickly became a fault line.

The Coleraine boss was blunt: that sort of commute is “not sustainable”.

“Conor and I had regular conversations over the last couple of weeks actually,” he said. “We've come to this conclusion and I think it's best for everyone.”

If McMenamin’s departure grabbed the headlines, Thomson’s arrival could define Coleraine’s season.

With Mark Coyle and Rowan McDonald sidelined, Coleraine were thin in central midfield. Thomson, who joins a group that already includes Will Patching and Dylan Boyle, offers something different – and Higgins knows exactly what that looks like, having previously managed him at Derry City.

“Joe is so different to the players that we have. He plays with an edge and he has a goal in him,” Higgins said. “He's very much box-to-box and all-action, and I've worked with him before so I know what I'm getting.”

The pressure to get the squad right did not stop there. While the McMenamin-Thomson switch dominated deadline day chatter, Coleraine slipped in another significant piece of business, prising Adam Brooks from Crusaders.

Brooks spent much of last season stationed out wide at Seaview, away from his natural role through the middle. This term he had burst into life, including a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Portadown, a performance that underlined why Higgins had been tracking the former Celtic striker for some time.

He is only 22, Scottish, and described by his new manager as “a young player with huge talent”.

“For not the biggest lad in the world he scores good headed goals, with his right foot, left foot, he can score from distance and inside the six yard box,” Higgins said. “He's got good awareness and so much to his game. I think if he was six foot two he would have never played in this league because he would be somewhere else.

“We see it as an investment and someone we can develop, and I've no doubt that Adam can kick on and once he establishes himself here, it wouldn't surprise me if he went on to another level in the coming years.”

Higgins remembers the moment Brooks really caught his eye – Crusaders away to Portadown last season.

“Straight away I really liked what I was seeing,” he said. “I know he's a brilliant boy and he played out of position a lot last year, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a top, top centre forward.

“He's very like a Robbie Keane sort of mould and that type of centre forward, and there's a lot I like about him.”

All of this comes against a backdrop of rising expectation at Coleraine. Last season they finished just three points behind eventual champions Larne after a powerful late surge. Investment has pushed the club into full-time football, and with that has come a different kind of scrutiny. The Bannsiders are now spoken about as genuine Gibson Cup contenders.

History hangs over it all. Coleraine have only one league title to their name, won in 1974. A second would arrive in the club’s centenary year.

“To me it's trying to win the second league title in the club's history, and it would be extra-special if you could do it in the centenary year,” Higgins said.

He is not shying away from the demands that come with that ambition.

“On a daily basis, I put myself under massive pressure and that's why we are here. We want to be part of a successful, ambitious club.”

So far, the response on the pitch has matched the rhetoric. Higgins, who says he is “very lucky” and “loving” life at Coleraine, has overseen an unbeaten start: three wins and a draw from their opening four games, including a point taken off champions Larne. Three clean sheets, goals flowing again, a squad reshaped but not weakened.

They head to Crusaders on Saturday evening at 18:00 BST with momentum and a sharper edge.

“We're obviously really happy with the start, and we're particularly happy with the three clean sheets out of four, and we're scoring goals again which is pleasing,” Higgins said. “We're four games in, so we'll not get too excited, but the players have been fantastic and it's a joy to work with them and the staff on a daily basis.”

The commute has ended for McMenamin. For Higgins and Coleraine, the real journey – towards that long-awaited second title – is only just beginning.