Jad Hakiki

Keeping them around, but then obviously the biggest thing is adding what we think quality-wise, experience-wise, we need to get us promoted from the First Division next year.

I appreciate you might be limited in what you can say while those negotiations continue, but one player comes to mind in this Lager Rover squad that you haven't got to work with yet in terms of competitively, and that's Jad Hakiki, who scored on the opening night of this season against Derry.

You've now just completed the season against Derry.

You saw little or nothing of him as a creative influence.

You'd be a fool if you were to say otherwise when you...

Look at the way the whole thing transpired.

There is a small part of me that thinks that things could have been a lot different had Jad Hakiki not got injured early on.

And again, this has just been the story of Sligo Rovers for the last few years.

I don't think you can go and sort of get rid of everybody within the squad there's got to be people that you you have to keep around there's got to be people that you think have got bright futures especially i'm talking about sort of younger players that have got some real good potential so um yeah keeping them around but then obviously the biggest thing is adding what what we think quality wise experience wise we need to to get us promoted from the from the first division next year

I appreciate you might be limited in what you can say while those negotiations continue but one player comes to mind in this Lager Rover squad that you haven't got to work with yet in terms of competitively and that's Jad Hakiki who scored on the opening night of this season against Derry you've now just completed the season against Derry you saw little or nothing of him as a creative influence I mean what is his status with the club?

Well he's out of contract we've made an offer to him for next season and then obviously Jad's got the prerogative to obviously discuss offer options with other football clubs that's just the position we're in you know I haven't seen him play everybody speaks really highly of him as a human being speaking to him on a daily basis he's a top lad you know he's a top young player so But listen, let's see how that goes going forward.

But like I said, we've made an offer.

Probably a large chunk of that was down to Shamrock Rovers.

enjoying themselves and they beat Shamrock Rovers and finished seventh but you know they've been battling against relegation for the last few years so it's been coming this year was always going to be I think particularly tough when you look at the teams they're up against and you know you can talk about respective budgets and all that and again that's a long long conversation to have but you know we all often talk about it when we're going to games and stuff and you know you wonder something small like Jad Hakiki staying fit how big a difference that could have made this year had they got a striker in earlier on in the season who could score goals could have made a massive difference but yeah the last like they were well clear earlier on you know at the mid-season break there was something like eight points clear of Waterford and that Waterford incredible resurgence came and Sly Rovers have never really recovered from it and that's kind of what happened.

The last time, sorry, the last time Sligo Rovers won a league game was the 22nd of May.

That's right, Sligo Rovers, yeah.