'He's their hero': Jim Magilton hails role played by Cliftonville legend and addresses potential new contract
Jim Magilton insists he’d love to tie club legend Joe Gormley down to an extended Cliftonville contract and says the decision will lie solely with “one of the best finishers I've ever been around”.
Despite turning 35 in November, Gormley has enjoyed his best season in terms of league goals since 2018/19, netting 18 times – a tally only bettered by Matthew Shevlin (20) and Joel Cooper (19) – alongside scoring the winner in the BetMcLean Cup final last month.
He has also led Magilton’s men back to a second consecutive Irish Cup final and enters Saturday’s showdown against Portadown having struck in each of his last three matches.
Gormley’s current deal is set to expire at the end of this season, but Magilton is keen to keep the club’s record goalscorer in his ranks.
"100% (we would love to keep him around),” said Magilton. “This will be down to how Joe feels too.
"We have to give Joe the respect he's most certainly due in terms of how he's feeling at the end of the season and what his thoughts are.
"We will sit down and there will be honest conversations. Joe has always been that way so I look forward to speaking to him.
"He has a big three weeks ahead of him, he's relishing that and he's taken on huge responsibility this year. He has embraced that and scoring 21 goals is huge.
"No matter what age he is, if you create enough opportunities in a game, Joe Gormley is one of the best finishers I've ever been around. He's enjoying his football and seems very happy which is equally as important."
Gormley’s impact extends far beyond his contribution on a Saturday afternoon, acting as a role model for the club’s next generation of stars who have idolised him while coming through the ranks at Solitude.
It was 17-year-old Ryan Corrigan that provided the assist for Gormley’s decisive strike in last month’s showpiece decider against Glentoran while 16-year-old Coran Madden is now learning from the best before a likely move across the water.
"He's a huge influence on young players,” added Magilton. “Coran Madden has only turned 16 and he's training every other night with Joe Gormley.
"Ryan Corrigan is the same and all the other young lads we bring in...Joe is their idol. He's their hero.
"Joe is so humble and never gets carried away, he doesn't get too high or too low, and he's such a pleasure to be around. It must be a great advantage for young players to learn from him.
"I was lucky in my start at Liverpool to have these unbelievable pros who taught you every day what it was to become a player and winner.”
Cliftonville are set to become the latest full-time Irish League outfit after a takeover bid from Toronto Investment Group was accepted by members earlier this week, but Magilton insists there will remain a place for experienced stars like Gormley.
"Nobody is going to be rushing into anything,” he said. “We are going to cater for everybody and we're going to manage that.
"We will speak to the players and will put together a proposal for the players down the line if that's what is going to happen.
"There are a lot of pieces in the jigsaw box and we just have to stick them together now."