Ballinamallard centre back Ben McCann believes that the ability to ‘win ugly’ can carry them to the NIFL Championship title. Last season the Mallards threatened at the top of the league until a poor run of results in the New Year ended their chances of a return to the top flight, but McCann is confident the lessons learnt in those early months of 2022 will spur them on this time around.

“We are a pretty footballing team most of the time, but I think there is a real focus this year on changing that up when we have to, and show that we can win ugly,” he said.

“I think that is a real message that has been put into the players this year. I’d say we were guilty last year of being too easy to play against in certain games and I think that has hurt a lot of boys. I think that has been realised throughout the club, and it’s a message we have put into ourselves through pre-season. With the experienced players we have brought in that should help a lot.”

McCann, who came through the youth system at the club, is in no doubt about the target for the upcoming campaign.

“We are looking to win the thing,” he said. “The minimum is promotion, but I think the feeling in the camp is good and in my own personal opinion we can go on and win it. It’s going to be very difficult and there are a lot of teams that can win it, we are not naive in that, but we feel we left a bit out there last season. Come January time we had a chance to go top and we fell away badly. We are looking to win it this time.”

The Mallards have seen the influential Dean Curry depart, but McCann reckons the incoming signings have left the squad in a better place than this time last year.

“The squad is probably as strong as it has been for the last three or four years,” he said.

“We have brought in some real quality players with the likes of Caolan McAleer and Shane McGinty, and the two of them added to Josh McIlwaine and BJ gives us as strong a front four as you are going to get in that league. We have the likes of Paddy Ferry too who impressed last year on loan and gives us a different option. We have retained our players as well and still have Richard Clarke, Mark Stafford, and we haven’t lost too many.”

The departure of Curry and Colm McLaughlin has left an opportunity for McCann to claim a starting berth alongside Mark Stafford at the heart of the Ballinamallard defence, and he believes he is already starting to form a good relationship with the experienced defender.

“There are positive signs,” he said. “We played together for the first time at the weekend at Dungannon. We would have liked to play more together since he arrived but for one reason or another we haven’t really got to build that relationship yet.

“I had a very frustrating season last season. I pulled my groin twice and I was probably out for about 22 weeks. I’m back fit and touch wood I stay fit because I hope to build a good relationship with Mark in the middle of the defence. We are going well in training together, but now we need to step out on the pitch and do it.”

The first competitive opportunity for McCann and his teammates to show their potential comes this Saturday when they travel to Ballyclare for the opening league game of the season.

“It is a repeat of the opening match of last season, where the Mallards suffered a painful 5-1 defeat, but McCann is determined there will not be a repeat of that result.

“We went up there last season and got well beaten, and traditionally it is probably a place we struggled at, but there is a chip on our shoulders and there is a point to prove,” he stated.

“Ballyclare away is probably as hard as they come, but I can’t wait. Its good craic playing pre-season but there is very little can beat the match day feeling at the start of the season.”