Coleraine's Ruaidhri Higgins on Conor McMenamin's Departure and New Signings
Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins has called Conor McMenamin’s shock switch to Glentoran “best for everyone” after the winger’s brief and turbulent spell on the north coast came to an abrupt end.
McMenamin signed from St Mirren in June, talked up the move, then was gone within 10 weeks – unveiled at the Oval in a deadline-day deal that sent midfielder Joe Thomson the other way to the Showgrounds.
Speaking after picking up the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association’s Manager of the Month award for August, Higgins backed McMenamin’s own verdict that “it wasn’t meant to be” at Coleraine.
“Sometimes in football and just life in general, things don't go as expected or according to plan,” Higgins said. “It's certainly not a personal issue with Conor at all.”
The issue was distance, not dressing-room drama.
McMenamin, 31, had been open about his reluctance to relocate from Downpatrick to the north coast, stressing that family and personal matters drove his decision. The daily grind – roughly 75 miles and around 90 minutes each way – quickly became too much.
Higgins didn’t sugar-coat it. That commute, he said, was “not sustainable”.
“Conor and I had regular conversations over the last couple of weeks actually,” he added. “We've come to this conclusion and I think it's best for everyone.”
Thomson’s edge in midfield
The departure of a Northern Ireland winger will grab headlines, but the deal also solved a problem for Coleraine.
With Mark Coyle and Rowan McDonald sidelined, the Bannsiders were light in central midfield. Thomson’s arrival plugs that gap and adds a different kind of bite alongside the likes of Will Patching and Dylan Boyle.
“Joe is so different to the players that we have. He plays with an edge and he has a goal in him,” said Higgins, who previously managed the Scot at Derry City.
“He's very much box-to-box and all-action, and I've worked with him before so I know what I'm getting.”
Higgins knows exactly where Thomson can drive this side: from one penalty area to the other, with energy Coleraine badly needed.
Brooks the big bet up front
While the McMenamin-Thomson swap dominated deadline day chatter, Coleraine quietly pulled off another significant move – prising Adam Brooks away from Crusaders.
Brooks, a former Celtic striker, spent much of last season shunted wide at Seaview. Even so, he began the new campaign in style and smashed a hat-trick against Portadown in a 3-2 win.
Higgins had seen enough.
He revealed he had been tracking the 22-year-old Scottish forward for some time and believes Coleraine have landed a major 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 first really locked onto Brooks during a Crusaders game at Portadown last season.
“Straight away I really liked what I was seeing,” he recalled. “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.”
Title talk and centenary pressure
Coleraine finished just three points behind eventual champions Larne last season after a powerful late surge. That run, combined with increased investment and the shift to full-time football, has changed the conversation around the club.
They are no longer plucky outsiders. They are contenders for the Gibson Cup.
The stakes are obvious. Coleraine’s only league title came in 1974. A second would land in a centenary year for the club – a powerful incentive for everyone inside the Showgrounds.
“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.
“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.”
Right now, he is relishing it. Higgins describes himself as “very lucky” and “loving” life at Coleraine, and the early evidence backs that up: his side are unbeaten after four league games, with three wins and a draw – the stalemate coming against champions Larne.
They head to Crusaders on Saturday evening aiming to keep that run going.
“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 ended one story before it ever really began. The question now is whether the new arrivals, the clean sheets and the rising expectations can carry Coleraine all the way to a title that has been 50 years in the waiting.
