Sligo Rovers new manager Owen Heary has his eye on landing the league title in his maiden season at the Showgrounds as he completed the signing of four players ahead of the 2015 SSE Airtricity League season.
"The aim is to win the league, there can’t be any other aim," the former Bohemians boss said as he confirmed that Kevin Devaney, Dinny Corcoran and Steven Beattie had followed him to the Showgrounds from the Dalymount Park club, while Keith Ward signs from Dundalk.
Devaney is a Sligo native who began his career with the Bit O’Red but made only first team appearance in the 2011 season as a late sub against UCD at the Showgrounds.
Striker Dinny Corcoran began his career at Sporting Fingal and also enjoyed a spell at Shelbourne and Drogheda United.
Corcoran enjoyed a fine season with Bohs last year, scoring 19 goals, including two against Sligo Rovers.
Winger Beattie had spells with Toronto FC and played in Puerto Rico and with Icelandic club Tindastoll. He returned to Ireland at the beginning of 2014 to play for Bohs and appeared in 36 games last season and scored three times.
24 year-old midfielder Keith Ward started his career with UCD and had two spells at Dundalk, as well as playing for Bohemians in 2012 alongside Heary.
The new manager was unveiled in Sligo this afternoon and has high hopes for the 2012 league champions ahead of the new season.
Heary said: “We are looking to bring in people with a hunger, first and foremost, that are willing to play for the jersey.
"Everyone who signs will be moving to Sligo and be full-time like myself. The training facilities here are the best in the country and it’s important that we use them to their max and that means that players have to live up here.
“I don’t want players just to come up for the sake of me being here, I want them to come here because they want to be here.
“They style of football depends on the players we sign. First and foremost I want to make the Showgrounds a difficult place for teams to come and take points off us.
“That has to be the goal at the start of the season and get points on the board. The first five games of any season aren’t about how you play it’s about getting the points on the board and then your style of play will come through as we go along. It will be a work in progress but it depends on the players we bring in.
“The aim is to win the league, there can’t be any other aim. There’s no point entering a league if you don’t think you can win it.
“Gavin Dykes is staying on and that is important for me because I know him very well and he knows the club very well. He knows the passion and that’s what I want to tap into. I’ll be honest I don’t know much about the club as a whole and that’s why having him there is vital for me because he knows everyone, he knows the players from last season and he knows the under-19s. I am trying to get as much information as I possibly can over the next couple of weeks.”
