John McGovern loving every minute of Dungannon Swifts move and feels 'sky's the limit'
Dungannon Swifts’ star striker John McGovern believes “sky’s the limit” as they chase a top-six Premiership finish and admits he’s loved every moment at Stangmore Park since his summer move.
The former Northern Ireland youth international had spent the entirety of his senior career with Newry City prior to this season, making over 100 appearances after breaking into the team as a teenager, but has taken his game to another level in County Tyrone.
McGovern netted twice in Saturday’s 5-1 league win over Crusaders which returned Rodney McAree’s impressive Swifts to second spot, taking his personal goal tally to 12 in 25 matches across competitions, including eight in the Premiership.
The 22-year-old will hope to further help Dungannon’s hopes of sealing a maiden top-half finish since 2010 when they host Glenavon on Friday evening and has enjoyed being part of the club’s ascension.
"I'm going alright so far and need to keep it going,” he said. “I've loved this move and I feel I've done decently since I came in.
"All the boys have made me feel very welcome and I've settled in well. We all have a really good understanding of each other and Rod is a massive people person.
"He has built a team since he came back to Dungannon based on who he thinks are the best players for the positions and it shows with where we are sitting in the table. The Crusaders match showed the quality we have and if we take our chances what we can do.
"The sky's the limit for us...with the quality we have we could go anywhere and we're showing that throughout the league so far.
"We don't fear anybody in the league...we've played every team and I think if you went around the dressing room there wouldn't be one that anyone says they fear.
"From when I came in during pre-season I knew there was a great team there and it was about learning."
McGovern is a talented athlete, enjoying success across sports after helping Down GAA lift the Tailteann Cup last year and was described as “freakishly good” by coach Mickey Donnelly, but his immediate priority will be focusing on football alongside his university commitments.
"At the minute I'm just focusing on soccer,” added McGovern. “I'm enjoying it at the minute and it was tough to balance both...I want to keep my body right too.
"I'm in my final year of university too so I want to manage my workload in terms of university work and soccer. It would be hard to commit to all three so Gaelic is on the back-burner at the moment.
"Everyone has aspirations to be a full-time footballer but I'm over the moon with how I'm doing at Dungannon and I'm very happy at the club and with the players I'm playing with. I've very little to complain about."