Portadown manager Niall Currie remains on the hunt for “game changers” capable of taking his side to the next level – and has reaffirmed the Shamrock Park club “cannot flog” captain Gary Thompson again this season.

Thompson has starred in the Irish League for 15 years across spells with Lisburn Distillery, Ballymena United, Crusaders and now the Ports, who he led to Championship title glory in 2024.

The 35-year-old managed injuries to make 32 appearances across all competitions last term and was one of Portadown’s top performers in their opening day defeat to Glentoran last weekend.

Having won trophies at every club he’s played at and racked up hundreds of Irish League outings, Thompson’s experience is crucial to a Ports team looking to cement long-term Premiership status after an impressive return.

placeholder image — Portadown manager Niall Currie. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

Both Rabby Minzamba and Shay McCartan didn’t feature last weekend – the latter will once again be absent against Dungannon Swifts on Saturday through suspension – while summer signing Rayhaan Tulloch is working his way back to full fitness after missing part of pre-season.

Thompson will likely play an important role once again at Stangmore Park, but Currie insists they won’t keep getting away with it.

"Shay McCartan is a big loss to us, Ray Tulloch missed two weeks of training and gave us a cameo (against Glentoran),” said Currie. “They are two big players, so is Rabby – he gives you that bite in the middle of the park.

"Gary Thompson, at 35 years of age, was unbelievable. We cannot flog that man this season...we flogged him last season and didn’t think we’d get away with it.

"That man can’t do that again, playing Saturday and again on a Tuesday, so we need them two boys coming back.

"Shay is suspended but we’ll welcome those boys back because we need them floating around the team for sure.

"We need one or two players in, if we're being honest.

"It's been a frustrating time in the market but you'll find all the players that weren't available from the full-time boys will suddenly pop up one or two days before the end of the window.

"We'll just have to keep our powder dry and, hopefully, the right one comes along. We could do with a wee lift and injection into that final third of the pitch."

Currie has previously spoken about the difficulty of this summer’s transfer window, generally adopting an approach of looking outside the Irish League for reinforcements – a strategy which proved successful through additions of Ahu Obhakhan, Josh Ukek and Minzamba.

With only a couple of weeks remaining to recruit, Currie is still on the hunt for star talent capable of making a major difference.

"What I see is a hell of a lot of other teams heavily investing,” added Currie. “Everybody knows who they are...what we have to do is make sure what we bring in are game changers now.

"We don’t need to bring anything in which is the same as what we have. I brought Jordan Gibson in...he had three wonderful years and was brilliant for me at Carrick Rangers, I brought him in because he’s different.

"He’s a six-foot four giant with lovely feet on the ball, good in the air, he’s 30 and we will get his best years, he gives us something different.

"Anybody coming into the club has to be better and give us something different rather than bringing bodies in for the sake of it.”