Ballinamallard United manager Whitey Anderson has accused Linfield of being ‘unprofessional’ after the Windsor Park outfit’s pursuit of Mark Stafford and Davy Kee.

And while he admits that both players were unsettled at the start, he stresses they are now focused on pre-season and hitting the ground running with Ballinamallard when the new season gets underway.

“An enquiry was made by Linfield in relation to Mark Stafford prior to pre-season and that interest was then withdrawn and they then made an enquiry about Davy Kee. There was no official offer made by Linfield for Mark Stafford and they made what I would class as a derisory offer for Davy Kee who has nearly a year left on his contract and that offer was treated with the contempt it deserved. I’m disappointed in the way the players have been unsettled and the way it has been dealt with, it has been unprofessional. These are though two players who will always give 100 percent and while it may have unsettled them initially they won’t let it affect them and they are working hard in pre-season to be ready to go when the season starts,” he said.

The Mallards, who returned to pre-season training last week, will begin their league campaign with an away game against Coleraine while they also face games against Glentoran, Crusaders, league champions Cliftonville and cup winners Glenavon in their opening six games.

Anderson though is unfazed by the tough opening and is simply focusing on having his players fit and raring to go for the opening day of the season.

“I don’t think it really matters who you play as they are all tough games in this league and you just have to take the games as they come. Obviously, it is important to get off to a good start and try and build momentum but the fixtures don’t concern me at all. We just have to make sure that we are ready to go from the very first game, that’s the most important thing.” The Ferney Park side have made a couple of additions to their squad already with experienced striker Anthony Elding and young midfidlder Raymond Foy having come on board. And he is hopeful of another couple of signings before the window closes.

“We have made a couple of signings and we have a few irons in the fire so hopefully we can add another couple as well. Anthony Elding is a big signing for us and he has a record of scoring goals so we’re looking forward to seeing him. We’ve also signed Raymond Foy which is as much a long term thing given what could happen within the squad over the next 12 to 18 months. We also have the likes of Leon Carters and James McKenna to come back and they will be like new signings for us so I believe that we are going to go into the new season with a strong squad,” he commented.

New proposals by the Northern Ireland Football League were recently endorsed by the clubs and Anderson feels that while Ballinamallard have an issue with a midweek Reserve League, on the whole they are a positive step for local football.

“My views overall on the proposals is that they are very balanced and forward thinking. A lot of work has went into it and a lot of consultation has taken place and they have to be applauded for that. I think it can only be classed as a positive step by the league. There was obviously one or two things we were not overally keen on like the midweek reserve league but I think commonsense will be applied with regards the implementation of that,” he said.

Anderson also confirmed changes to the management structure at the club. He will have Brian Khan as his assistant manager and Steve Feeney as first team coach. Andy Parkinson is now Reserve team coach along with Scott Robinson while Derek Sharpe will manage the U18 side where he will be assisted by Andy McCutcheon.