Former Coleraine star 'like a new signing' for Oran Kearney after returning from 10-month injury lay-off
Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney admits having Andy Scott available once again is “like a new signing” for the Sky Blues.
Scott previously worked under Kearney during their time together at Coleraine before the attacker was one of five players who moved to Ballymena following the Bannsiders’ transition to full-time football.
The 25-year-old was introduced off the bench in the dying seconds of Ballymena’s 2-0 Boxing Day victory over former club Coleraine, marking a first appearance since mid-February.
Scott impressed in the early stages of his Ballymena career, scoring four Premiership goals in 23 outings under Jim Ervin and was a mainstay in the Sky Blues team.
Having made 56 appearances across all competitions for Coleraine, Kearney knows what former Larne winger Scott is capable of and is excited to have him as an option ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Bangor.
"I’m delighted for Andy,” he told the club’s media channel. “I had Andy at Coleraine and he was brilliant for me there.
"It’s like a new signing. We’ve signed two strikers and people say ‘what else do you want in the window?’, but we’ve just signed a winger and a number 10 because Andy hasn’t been available for a long time.
"He will be like a new signing. He has a great attitude, great qualities and it’s nice for him to get that cameo and start that road back to building that level of fitness.”
Kearney has already made early moves ahead of the January transfer window opening next week with Igor Rutkowski joining from Armagh City while former Crusaders forward Dean Ebbe has also signed following a successful spell at Dundalk.
The former St Mirren chief, who made 121 appearances for Ballymena as a player, picked up his first win in the dugout on Friday and insists a new standard has now been set at The Showgrounds.
"The final thing we said to the players was ‘you have to go and back that up now’,” added Kearney. “You get three points from this game, and it’s a great three points and you have to enjoy it, but the standard has now risen and the bar has been set.
"It’s important we try and back that up with another three points on Tuesday.”