Striker Colm Whelan 'will not be rushed' by Derry City

Ruaidhri Higgins will not rush Colm Whelan into action as the striker continues his rehabilitation from the injury which ended his season prematurely back in May.

The 21-year-old has signed a two-year contract with Derry City but is unlikely to be available for the start of the 2023 season in February due to a ruptured cruciate ligament problem which happened whilst playing for UCD at Finn Harps.

Whelan, who caught the attention of several teams in Ireland and England due to an incredible scoring record of 44 goals in 66 games with the Students, was on the verge of a move across the water when the injury struck, with League One side Lincoln very keen amongst others. Unveiling City’s new striker at the Brandywell yesterday, Higgins explained that the club had stayed in touch with Whelan ever since first meeting him in the summer.

“UCD have been absolutely brilliant to deal with,” he said. “They have been really professional how they have gone about it and we’re delighted. He picked up his injury after we met him so we stayed in touch up until now and we’re delighted because even with his injury, he’s had serious interest.

“We feel that if he hadn’t picked up his injury, we wouldn’t have got him and that’s the bottom line. He’s a born goalscorer who works extremely hard and we’re delighted to bring him here and I think over time we will see the talent that he has.”

Whelan is still a long way from full fitness, but Higgins will not rush his new player into action.

“Definitely not,” he stated. “Jamie McGonigle finished the season strongly and Cian Kavanagh is an immense talent as well so we don’t need to rush him. He’ll be ready when he’s ready; he’s signed for a couple of years so we’ll do what’s right for Collie, not what’s right for me. He’s had a tough enough few months so when he’s ready to play again, that’s when he’ll be back.”

Whelan’s stats at UCD are undeniably impressive, with the youngster scoring two goals every three games, figures which would catch the attention of any manager.

“They’re absolutely brilliant,” Higgins agreed. “He’s left foot, right foot, 25 yards from goal, 5 yards from goal, headers; he scores all different types of goals. He’s a brave player as well and he’s got that Kilkenny background, that GAA physicality where he’s a winner and wants to win and ultimately he has come here because he thinks it’s the best step in his career.”

It remains to be seen if Whelan will play alongside Jamie McGonigle in the City line-up, or be used as competition for places alongside Cian Kavanagh. Higgins insists all three forwards are as good as each other.

“It's whatever way I see fit,” he continued. “I do feel that they can play together. The good thing about it is that I feel the three forwards that we now have can all pair up, if we ever did play a front two or we played one off one, there’s that flexibility. They all bring different qualities which is great and Collie bring goals and when he’s fit we’ll see that.”

‘Relaxed’

Higgins remains relaxed about further signings at Derry City. Generally, there has not been a lot of activity across the league, and the City boss is willing to be patient to get the players he wants.

“We won’t be going with what we have now, we’ll sign a couple more, but if we had to go with what we had now I would be very, very comfortable,” he explained. “The thing is it’s different from this time last year when we had a lot of really, really good players out of contract. You have to think outside the box a wee bit and look in different areas.

“We’re fortunate enough that we’re not in a position where we need to panic into a couple of signings but we’ll sign players who we feel fit the ethos of the club and their character has to be right. Unless all these things stack up then we won’t sign anyone.

“We do want to bring in a couple more. The window around the UK doesn’t open until January so we’ll have to be patient. I’m certainly very relaxed about it.”