Jamie McDonagh signs for Newry City on loan as Barry Gray believes new arrival will help in their 'fight' to retain Premiership status

The winger – who spent time on loan at Glenavon at the start of the season – will hope to steer City away from relegation as they sit bottom of the Premiership table.

McDonagh has previously been on the books at Greenock Morton, Sligo Rovers, Derry City and Glentoran, with Newry boss Barry Gray believing his experience of playing for “established teams” will help his squad for the business end of the campaign.

He said: “I am delighted to have secured the services of Jamie for the rest of the season, and I’d like to thank Cliftonville for their assistance also.

"As we build the team and look forward to putting together a fight to stay in the Premiership, I feel Jamie will really help us deliver on the pitch.

“Jamie is an experienced Premiership footballer and his quality speaks for itself, obviously he has played for several very established teams and I’m confident that he will be a good fit for us moving into the remaining games.

"We look forward to getting him in and working as soon as possible.”

McDonagh, who turns 28 in May, believes the temporary switch can turn out to be a win-win situation for both parties.

“I am delighted to come to Newry, I am pleased that Barry has shown faith in me to sign me for the final six months of the season,” he added.

"Obviously I went to Glenavon earlier in the season to get my career back on track and unfortunately with the accident I had that didn’t work out.

"I now have the chance to do that at Newry and I am determined to use my time here both to get my career back on track to where I was at my pinnacle a few seasons ago and also to keep Newry in the Premiership.

"I think both of those things can go hand in hand and with the resources that we have here at the club that we can do that.

“I was at the match last week with Cliftonville and was able to watch the Newry performance and hear the backing that they got from the fans, I am sure we can put on more performances like that only with a better result and the fans will continue to be behind us. I am just looking forward to get going now.”