Manager looking to end season with a trophy before departing for the Irish League

Kerr’s men booked their spot in next week’s Clarence Cup final against Crumlin United – a second decider of the season following defeat in the Border Cup finale – by beating Intermediate Cup champions Crumlin Star 1-0 on Tuesday evening.

It was sweet revenge for Drumaness, who lost out to Star in that Border final in December, and it gives their manager a chance to depart with some silverware.

Kerr was announced as the new boss at Premier Intermediate League outfit Banbridge Town earlier this month, taking over from Simon Nicks at Crystal Park ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

"I got a few messages last night about it being written in the stars!” he said.

"Crumlin United are a really good side and beat us 3-1 in the league earlier in the season. They are a really good team and if it's written in the stars then I will happily take that!

"For me it's just about getting over the line. It's about the players. The staff do what they can do and work really hard but all the credit from this has to go to the players.

"We had boys coming direct from work last night in building clothes to play a huge game for the club. That kind of effort doesn't go unnoticed.

"It'll (reaching the final) mean very little if we don't get over the line because nobody remembers the losers. We have done very well to get there with a very young squad.

"I think we have the youngest team in the league with one outfield player aged 30, the next is 26 and then we go down into teenage years which is unusual.

"It's an achievement but achievement is winning things not just reaching a final."

Their success this season is in stark contrast to the form of only a few years ago when Drumaness Mills lost every single one of their 23 league matches before the 2019/20 campaign was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They conceded 125 goals up to that point but Kerr says the squad have continued to develop and could be setting the platform for more moments to remember in the future.

"Over half of that squad played in the Drumaness squad at the start of Covid that lost every league game,” he added.

"You can imagine how young they were then and the club was really struggling and has done astronomically well.

"Drumaness have maintained their place in the Premier Division probably against the odds given who they are punching against. Is success staying in the league? Yes. Do I think the club and players are better than where they are going to finish this year? Yes, so that's disappointing.

"They are all good players. We have guys in their early-twenties who have played 100+ Amateur League games so that can only stand them in good stead for next season and beyond."

Kerr has a strong connection to Banbridge, both in terms of his football career and family ties, so when the opportunity came up to return to manage in the third-tier, it was too good to turn down.

He’s looking to replicate the success of the town’s hockey and rugby teams with the ‘sleeping giant’ and has big ambitions.

"I previously played for Banbridge, was assistant manager up there and half my family is from Banbridge,” he said. “I have a lot of affection for the place.

"I live in Drumaness, my two younger boys play for the youth team, my other one plays for the senior side so it's difficult from that point of view because I'm very invested in the club.

"I'm going to stay on and help with some of the development work they are doing with the youth teams and the projects to improve facilities. I will still have a connection with them.

"After Banbridge they will be the first result I look for on a Saturday but at the end of the day the challenge to go up and manage a club in the PIL doesn't come along often.

"I keep using the term 'sleeping giant' when I talk about Banbridge. If you look at the size of the town and the success of the hockey and rugby club, the possibilities are endless. Could Banbridge have an Irish Premier side? Why not.

"There is an awful lot of work to do there but there's no reason why not."