Bangor defender Kyle Owens believes the Premiership newcomers should “aim high” going into next season and has full confidence in the Seasiders’ squad.

The Clandeboye Park outfit will be plying their trade in Northern Ireland’s top-flight for the first time since 2009 next term after winning the Championship title.

Their Premiership ascension comes just eight years after falling out of the Irish League pyramid completely and it has been a remarkable rise for Lee Feeney’s men, but Owens believes there’s even more to come.

Newly-promoted sides have performed admirably in recent seasons despite an increasingly difficult task of adjusting to life in the Premiership with Loughgall comfortably preserving top-flight status in 2023/24 before Portadown impressed last season, ultimately finishing eighth but occupied a top-half position for large stretches.

placeholder image — Bangor defender Kyle Owens. (Photo by Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press)

Owens has previous Premiership experience having played for Crusaders alongside brother Jordan and Ballymena United before moving into the second-tier with Dundela, H&W Welders and Bangor.

"Absolutely (there’s cause for optimism),” Owens told the club’s website after scoring in Saturday’s pre-season fixture against Welsh outfit Llandudno. “You’ve experience, you’ve youth, quality, you’ve everything.

“We’re all fighting for each other every week – as long as you’re not getting beat fours and fives every week, but I don’t see that happening, I think we’ve a very, very good changing room that will pick up results.

“Obviously Lee’s got new additions coming and they’ll help us as well and that’s just it, next year, give it a big push.

“It’s my second season at the club and I’ll be looking to push on individually as well and try to help us hopefully get into the top six, but it’ll be a big ask.

“But listen, we need to believe we can and aim high whenever we go into training and the matches, so if we have that outlook that we can push far up the league, we’ll be fine.

"Lucky enough, I’ve played in it (Premiership) for a couple of years and it doesn’t get any easier. You see the teams strengthen year in, year out, but we’re a close-knit changing room.

“We fight for each other and that’s what you need in this league, and I think we’ll be alright – we’ll go out and work our socks off every week and push on as we go.”

Feeney has moved to sign players with Premiership experience in former Linfield, Coleraine and Glenavon goalkeeper Gareth Deane alongside defender Stephen McGuinnness from Cliftonville.

Owens feels there were positive signs in Bangor’s first pre-season outing and is relishing the task of taking on Northern Ireland’s elite.

“It’s good to be back, we had a mixture of young players and older players, players that have been here and a few new players,” he added. “The result’s not important to us, we were out to get 45 minutes’ match fitness each and that’s all that really mattered.

“Everyone’s off the pitch, no injuries, so it was a good workout for us all things considered. We’ll just use pre-season to build up to the start of the season and I think we’ll need everyone.

“It’s a big ask this year playing against all the top teams in the country and that’s what you play football for. I think we’ll do alright, we’ll give it a good crack anyway.”