It was the news that every Ballinamallard supporter wanted to hear. After the disappointment of relegation to the Championship on the final day of the season and an end to a six year stay in the Premiership, the club received a lift with the confirmation last week that Harry McConkey had agreed to stay on as manager at the Ferney Park club for a three year term.
McConkey had dragged the Mallards from seven points adrift with eight games to go to force the campaign down to the last day of the season and even at that they only went down on goal difference.
The job he did in nearly keeping the Ducks up from what appeared to a be a hopeless position had the Ferney Park faithful desperate for him to stay on although McConkey admits that it was not a straightforward decision for him to remain in the hotseat.
“I think this decision was probably ten times more difficult to make than the other one. I know I said before it is good to do something that frightens you but that was in a sense of going into a relegation battle but you know that’s a short term commitment and you are giving it everything that you know you can give. This though is a much longer term project and one of my major worries was that you have to go in and make a good impression but my personal circumstances are that I will be away on my holidays and then I’m having an operation and obviously I’m also having to keep and eye on my international career as well. 
“My biggest thing though was that I didn’t want to take on a position that I felt I would let people down and in order to do that you have to push yourself even harder again and I have to remember that I’m 60 now next year and not 40 as I was the last time I was at the club. You have to decide whether you have the drive or the energy to do this and whether you want to challenge yourself and ultimately I’ve come down on the side that yes I do want to challenge myself,” said McConkey.
The backing and support from the club and their desire to have him as manager was another reason for McConeky accepting the position.
“There is no question that was a factor. I need to feel that people are supportive of me, not just when things are going well but when they are tough, that will be a true test. It obviously helps though when you feel that people are behind you. It’s the same with the relationship with your chairman, with the committee, that has to be healthy,” he commented.
And McConkey has wasted no time in getting down to work. It is expected that there will be a big turn over of players this summer as the club adjusts to Championship life.
The Mallards have already lost key men with Shane McGinty signing for Ballymena United and top scorer Ryan Curran going to Cliftonville while it is expected that Stephen O’Flynn will retire. On top of that Niall Owens is going to America on a scholarship.
McConkey is currently talking to all of last season’s squad to find out their intentions and then he will look to bring players in to replace those who opt to leave.  “Clearly we’ve lost Curran and McGinty, it looks like O’Flynn has retired and Niall Owens is going to the States and we’re delighted that he is going to get an opportunity to develop his game on a full time basis,” said the Ballinamallard boss.
The Mallards manager believes that if he retained the current crop then they would not be far away from challenging in the Championship but he is also very much a realist.
“I have put out a blank sheet of paper and for arguments sake I have put out a 4-2-3-1. The first thing I have to do is put down the team I had, they are your number one because ideally if we were going into the Championship with the squad of players that I had I have no question that with a couple of additions we would have pushed even the Larnes. They were very much a together group, that was their strength and to be build on that would have been lovely. This though is the real world and we are now in a position where financially there has been major cuts and so I’m now visiting all the players individually just to confirm their desire and hunger to play for the club.”
Once he knows who will not be staying at the club, McConkey says he can then start filling in the blanks.
“Obviously I know some of the blanks already,” said McConkey. “There are players who won’t accept not playing in the Premiership, there are players who won’t accept the funding that is available now so all those factors are going to create gaps on that sheet of mine and then I have to go and replace them. That’s the process that I’m on now.”
He is also hoping to cast his eye over any local talent that he feels is capable of making the step up to this level during pre-season.
“I will look locally, the one thing I want to do with this club is encourage local people to be part of the club and give people opportunities. I do know that from looking at the West Region on the international front the standard of player that is out there and I have to be truthful, there is not an abundance of players out there in this area. But those that are, we want to give them that opportunity and some will get that we hope in pre-season.”
And McConkey also hopes that his international role which has seen him keep a close eye on the Championship will prove beneficial.
“There has to be a benefit to the club on that front that I have an insight on a certain quality of player, not only for us to potentially bring in but also knowledge of players we will be playing against,” he said.
McConkey is also determined that people are realistic with their expectations for next season with Larne and Portadown set to be the big hitters in the Championship.
“If you have an energy in your team and a togetherness, that’s what the club will be built on now. Let’s get ourselves fit, organised and together and just see where that is going to take us. Everybody’s favourites are going to be Larne, closely followed by Portadown and that might not be a bad thing because I don’t want the players to feel that they are letting people down if they don’t go right up. We need people to be realistic of their objectives.
“My remit is to go in and get the best out of a group of players and that won’t change for me. Whatever group I end up that I have to work with I will give my very best to get the best out of them and where that ends up only time will tell,” he concluded.