The season may only have ended last Tuesday night for Ballinamallard United as they secured fifth spot in the Championship One table with a 4-2 win over H&W Welders but manager Whitey Anderson is already planning for next season.
Anderson has strengthened his backroom team with the addition of Andy Parkinson as first team coach and he is pleased that the Fivemiletown United manager has opted to join the Mallards.
"I'm delighted to say that Andy Parkinson has agreed to join our backoom team. He has just completed four successful seasons at Fivemiletown and he has been involved in football a long time. His coaching experience gained at Fivemiletown and within the County structure will provide a breath of fresh air," said Anderson.
And Parkinson is excited about the challenge although he admits it was difficult to walk away from Fivemiletown.
"It is a good challenge for me but it was hard to leave Fivemiletown and I had to think long and hard about it. I have ambitions as a coach though and I want to push as high as I can. I think I'm leaving Fivemiletown in a good position but ultimately the challenge of being involved at that level was too much to turn down for me," he commented.
Anderson has confirmed that Brian Khan will remain as assistant manager and Ryan Whitely as strength and conditioning coach while he also revealed that the club are keen on adding one more person to complete the backroom team.
"We are on the lookout for a goalkeeping coach to make up our backroom team as we prepare to progress and improve," stated Anderson.
The 2010/11 season has proved to be a success for the Mallards with Anderson commenting: "It has been a very successful season for the club both on and off the field. The new pitch that we have had laid is as good as it gets in the Irish league and thats a good start. It's our best season to date in the championship and we have consolidated our league position with two fine cup runs in the Irish Cup and the F&W Intermediate Cup, winning the latter." The win over Distillery in the cup provided one of the big highlights of the season for the Mallards boss.
"Little did we know with our first round victory over Dergview what lay ahead and the draw with Lisburn Distilery was followed up by a win at Ferney Park in a night that will be remembered for a long time. We also completed four derby wins against a good Dergview team and that in itself is no mean feat," he stated.
And Anderson hopes that the club can continue to progress.
"It's now about working to not only sustain what we have but to build slowly upon this season and see where we go from here," he said.
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