Cliftonville announced the signing of goalkeeper Luke McNicholas on Tuesday night.
McNicholas has been added to Paddy McLaughlin's squad following the departure of Aaron McCarey to Glentoran.
The 21-year-old was thrown straight into the action for the Reds, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 friendly win over Dungannon Swifts on Tuesday.
Here's some more info on the club's new signing...
Profile
Name : Luke McNicholas
Position : Goalkeeper
Age : 21
Height : 1.91m
Former clubs : Manulla, Sligo Rovers, Finn Harps
Club career
McNicholas joined Sligo from Manulla in 2019 and signed a new deal with the Airtricity Premier Division Club in January this year. He also had a brief loan spell at Finn Harps in 2021.
Ironically, this led to Rovers boss Liam Buckley signing Richard Brush from Cliftonville.
Recent appearances
The 21-year-old went out on loan to Finn Harps at the start of the current League of Ireland season but didn't start a game. He then returned to Sligo as Ed McGinty’s understudy after the summer break.
It was following an ankle injury to McGinty that McNicholas got his chance. The keeper featured in both legs of Sligo’s Europa Conference League tie with Hafnarfjardar last month and continued his impressive form into the league.
Reflecting on his chance, McNicholas told The Sun: “It’s just a game of football at the end of the day.
“I’m not the first person to play and I won’t be the last.
“You’re here for a reason and it’s about self belief, staying confident and staying calm and doing your thing.
“You have to be mentally strong, be confident in yourself, know what you can do and go do it.
“As a keeper you have to be ready because you don’t know when you might get your chance.
“For me it was making sure that I was ready every game and every training session and pushing Ed as well because he was pushing me.
“You just have to be ready and be focused to do your thing.”
International honours
McNicholas has represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-18 level.
Reds debut?
McNicholas made his debut on Tuesday night in the pre-season friendly against Dungannon Swifts. Ronan Doherty scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the Reds.
