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Gareth Fullerton

Dungannon Swifts boss Dean Shiels 'getting annoyed' by ongoing transfer speculation

Dungannon Swifts manager Dean Shiels admits he is "starting to get annoyed" by questions surrounding the future of some of his young stars.

Darragh McBrien impressed for the Swifts once again on Saturday, scoring the second goal in a crucial 3-1 win over Portadown.

McBrien - who has two-and-a-half years left on his contract - was teed up by Oisin Smyth, another one of Shiels' emerging talents who are on the radar of a number of clubs this transfer window.

Recent newspaper reports claimed Linfield had tabled a bid somewhere between £50,000 and £60,000 for 20-year-old McBrien, which prompted a "not for sale" response from Shiels.

The Stangmore Park boss was once again asked about the player's future following Saturday's win over Portadown.

Shiels told BBC Sportsound: "Darragh was fantastic today again. He's picked up a knock which is a little bit frustrating for him.

Dungannon's Darragh McBrien (INPHO/John McVitty)

"But his finish was quality; his goal was superb. It was great link-up play with Oisin Smyth and the pass from Oisin was superb as well.

"We are getting good performances from all the players, we have a lot of good players here which I am sure a lot of teams would want. But none of them are leaving.

"I am starting to get annoyed at the same questions on which players are doing well and which players are leaving.

"We are keeping the players and that's it."

Speaking earlier in the week, Shiels reiterated Dungannon's stance on McBrien.

He said: “Darragh is part of our project, he’s a diamond of a kid and he wants to be with us.

“Can I understand why there is interest in him? One million percent and I expect big things from him, but he is a Dungannon player.

“We don’t have to sell any of our players and the days of teams coming and hand picking Dungannon Swifts players are over.

“Darragh signed a three year deal and he has two and a half years of that contract left, so there is no chance he will be leaving.”

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