How Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree has what it takes to manage across the water
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BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Larne 'need to keep the ball better'
Larne defender Tomas Cosgrove says the Irish Premiership side "need to keep the ball better" in Thursday's Uefa Conference League second qualifying round second leg against Prishtina in east Antrim side were held to a goalless draw in the first leg of their tie at Ballymena Showgrounds last week."It was a weird game. We did well for 65 minutes and were disappointed we didn't score a few goals," said Cosgrove. "We ended up with 0-0 and we were happy about it because we really hung on towards the end."It's a massive game on Thursday night. We know what we did right in the game and we know what we did wrong so we'll try to address that."Cosgrove believes Nathan Rooney's side must dictate the pace of the game more in the second leg."They are a good team. They are at the same stage of the season as us but they kept the ball really well."We need to keep the ball a bit more, have a bit more belief. "I think we were trying to force it and go for goal every time rather than recycling the ball and slowing the game down to our tempo."The ex-Cliftonville player was part of both Irish Premiership title-winning squads with the Invermen in 2023 and 2024 and says that Rooney's arrival has brought a fresh approach."It's a new era at the club, new ideas. Kenny [Bruce. former owner] is away as well. "Nathan brings in a lot of enthusiasm, he's really keen on the job. "He brings a lot of energy into the building every day. We're all getting a big boost from it."Whoever comes through the tie between Portuguese club CD Santa Clara and Croatian outfit NK Varazdin will be awaiting the winners.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- BBC News
Saints bow out of Europe after Conference League loss
Welsh champions The New Saints are out of Europe following a 2-0 aggregate loss against Luxembourg's Differdange 03 in the Uefa Conference League .Saints had lost 1-0 in the second qualifying round first leg at Park Hall a week earlier against and knew only a win could keep their hopes Samir Hadji's second half penalty sealed a 1-0 second leg win and a place in next round against Estonia's Levadia who dropped down into the Conference League after their Champions League exit, created few early exit will be bitterly disappointing after they became the first Welsh domestic side to reach the group stage of a European competition last Brobbel shot on the half volley from outside the area looked to be heading towards the top corner of the net but struck Theo Brusco and flew over the bar. Jordan Marshall played a neat ball into the near post which went past Ken Charles, who started in place of Saints record signing Ben Wilson up Saints, like in the home leg, were still finding it hard to create gilt edged opportunities and a tight first half ended Mfoumou missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock for the hosts early in the second half while Harrison McGahey and Danny Redmond had to make crucial were now under an intense spell of pressure and Nathan Shepherd made a crucial save to deny Artur the follow up effort was adjudged to have struck Ben Clark's beat Shepherd from the resultant penalty to put the hosts 1-0 up on the night and extended their aggregate came close with Charles heading wide late in the game but Saints inability to score over two legs cost them dear.
Scotsman
18 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Hearts overhaul to satisfy fans' demands
SPFL Scottish Premiership season 2025/26 begins at Tynecastle against Aberdeen Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A very different landscape is shaping at Tynecastle Park as Hearts prepare for the 2025/26 William Hill Scottish Premiership. A much-changed first-team squad is assembling under new management with head coach Derek McInnes putting his own specific philosophy and structure in place. It is a necessary overhaul, as any supporter will acknowledge. Rewind to spring time and exasperated Hearts fans saw their side short on various vital attributes as the 2024/25 campaign deteriorated before their eyes. Frustration had built following a catastrophic UEFA Conference League exit last December, followed by a 2-0 lead squandered in stoppage-time at Ross County, successive defeats to Hibs, failure to reach the Premiership top six, and then a Scottish Cup semi-final exit with nine men against Aberdeen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts badly needed more pace, aggression and goal threat for starters. The demands of the Tynecastle public meant action was inevitable. Previous head coach Neil Critchley was sacked and Liam Fox took interim charge, winning the final four league games and earning notable respect from fans in the process. McInnes was then plucked from Kilmarnock as Critchley's permanent replacement. Within a few weeks, the team has taken on a drastically different complexion with seven new signings so far. There is already significantly more of the aforementioned pace, aggression and goal threat. There is also greater work-rate, energy, size, set-piece threat and tactical flexibility. And, crucially, goals are now coming from different sources - centre-backs, full-backs, wingers and strikers. The over-reliance on Lawrence Shankland seems to have been rectified, witness 19 goals scored across four Premier Sports Cup group ties and Saturday's friendly against Sunderland. McInnes has got pretty much everything right so far, although it is important to point out that greater tests lie ahead once the league kicks off. New recruits bring added competition and a different dimension to the Hearts squad. Players like Oxford United loanee Stuart Findlay, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis and Portuguese forward Claudio Braga have already made an impact and can expect to be heavily involved as the season evolves. At least two more new faces will follow as Pierre Landry Kabore and Tomas Bent Magnusson prepare to begin their careers in Scotland. Hearts were today still awaiting final paperwork from the UK Home Office to complete Kabore's transfer from the Estonian club JK Narva Trans. Magnusson is expected to arrive this week to sign a long-term contract after a deal was agreed with his Icelandic side, Valur Reykjavik. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Excitement and anticipation are building in the west of Edinburgh, where fans demand regular European qualification and cup progress from any Hearts team. Fall short of that and both coaches and players will find themselves under increasing pressure. It is a wholly unpleasant experience walking towards the Tynecastle tunnel at full-time as fans brutally unleash their frustration literally yards above on the concourse. Unfortunately, that scene played out too often last season. McInnes is an experienced operator who visited Gorgie enough times as an opposition manager to know the environment, how it works, how to harness it and how it can turn against you. He arrived believing wide players with pace and goals, competitive midfielders and no-nonsense defenders would underpin his Hearts team. He is still piecing together the maroon jigsaw but there is already clear evidence of an astute coach at work. Sky Sports show Hearts v Aberdeen - more transfers to come in Edinburgh Aberdeen visit Tynecastle on Monday evening, McInnes' league debut as Hearts head coach coming against his old club in front of the Sky Sports TV cameras. The Pittodrie side did not take part in the Premier Sports Cup groups as one of Scotland's European entrants, so are behind their hosts in terms of competitive action. It was they who knocked Hearts out in last season's Scottish Cup semi-final, and both teams covet third spot in the league on a yearly basis. A high-octane encounter is guaranteed to start the season. It is possible that only two members of Hearts' starting line-up from that semi-final just over three months ago will be in the team on Monday - Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is injured along with centre-back Jamie McCart, left-back James Penrice was sold to AEK Athens, and Michael Steinwender is likely to be on the bench this time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is unclear whether right-back Adam Forrester will play from the start or if new signing Christian Borchgrevink will be fit. In midfield, Beni Baningime is another injury doubt and Jorge Grant was released in May before joining English club Salford City. Strikers James Wilson and Elton Kabangu may also find themselves on the bench against Aberdeen given Braga's prowess in recent games. All of which underlines the changing face of Hearts. The overhaul is very much central to raising standards, and it's not finished yet.
