Jim Magilton not afraid to promote youth after handing Cliftonville teenage trio contract extensions
Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton insists he’ll never be afraid to promote the club’s talented young players into his senior side after handing contract extensions to Joe Sheridan, Keevan Hawthorne and Ryan Corrigan.
The Reds boast one of the country’s best academies and have consistently developed talent to seal dream moves across the water – something which has continued this summer with Coran Madden, Shay Reid, Emmett Morrison and Shea Kearney all joining clubs in England or Scotland.
Aged 18, striker Corrigan has already racked up 33 Premiership appearances and scored his maiden league goal in an away victory over champions Linfield last season.
He also had a major impact in Cliftonville’s BetMcLean Cup final triumph against Glentoran, providing the assist for Joe Gormley’s extra-time winner at Windsor Park.
Sheridan, who has earned a call-up to the Republic of Ireland’s U19s alongside Reid for fixtures against France, spent part of last season on loan at Queen’s University, helping them seal Championship promotion.
The 17-year-old was a standout performer in Tuesday’s Co Antrim Shield win over North Belfast rivals Crusaders.
Hawthorne, who is aged 18, also spent last season gaining senior experience at Ballyclare Comrades, scoring twice in the Championship after making his top-flight debut during the 2023/24 campaign.
Magilton has shown a willingness to give youth a chance throughout his managerial career and also masterminded the IFA’s Club NI programme, which is now known as the JD Academy.
An array of Irish League clubs were interested in acquiring Sheridan and Hawthorne on loan during the recent transfer window, but Magilton feels they are capable of making an impact at Solitude.
“I’ve said before that we have good young lads coming through the Academy that we’ll never be afraid to put into the team,” he told the club’s website. “The only way to really find out about these players is to put them in and give them a chance to show what they can do.
"They’ve done well so far and they’re going to provide really good competition to the group, which is exactly what we want.
“In terms of Keevan and Joe, they both benefited from going out on loan in the second half of last season and we had a lot of Clubs knocking on the door for them last week, looking to take them out on loan again.
"It was something we considered because getting minutes under their belt is obviously important but, at the same time, we believe they can add something to Cliftonville right now and it’s great to have both of them, plus Ryan, as part of our squad.”