Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree believes star striker John McGovern has all the attributes required to thrive in full-time football – but insists no decision will be made over his future until the end of this season with so much still to play for.

McGovern took his goal tally to 18 across all competitions with a composed finish which put Dungannon ahead in Saturday’s 3-2 Premiership win over Glentoran at Stangmore Park – a result ultimately sealed by Tomas Galvin’s late strike.

The 22-year-old only joined the Swifts from Newry City last summer, but such has been his impact that a host of clubs, including Shamrock Rovers and Coleraine, are closely monitoring McGovern ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

Former Northern Ireland youth international McGovern, who signed a two-year deal with McAree’s men, has previously spoken about his desire to play professional football and will soon finish a university degree in Business and IT.

placeholder image — Dungannon Swifts striker John McGovern celebrates scoring his 18th goal of the season in Saturday's win over Glentoran. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

McGovern possesses power, strength, pace and, perhaps most importantly, an eye for goal, and will hope to fire Dungannon towards Irish Cup glory – and European qualification in the process – before making a final decision.

"I’ve had a couple of conversations with John and I know where John is at mentally and he knows where I am,” said McAree. "I know how good he has been and the level of performances he has been putting in.

"Whatever happens will happen and it will happen in due course, but we will certainly get this season out of the way before any more talk about it.

"He’s a great age at 22, is a fantastic athlete and has a lot to learn.

"He needs to improve in different areas of his game but he’s the sort of kid who will want to learn, want to improve and challenge himself to be the best he possibly can and you can’t blame anybody for that.”

Should McGovern depart, McAree appears to have an ideal replacement in 20-year-old Galvin, who recently signed a new contract and has scored eight times this season, while Andrew Mitchell has netted 15 goals, returning to peak form.

"Tomas for me has done really well this season, but I know there’s so much more in Tomas Galvin,” added McAree. "When we get it out of Tomas then he’s going to be a big player for us.

"Tomas Galvin came off the bench and does what Tomas does – he’s a goalscorer, strong, hungry and he puts his strike away very well.”

Dungannon went ahead on three different occasions with Glens striker Jordan Jenkins twice getting the visitors back level, but McAree praised his side for responding each time.

"When you concede the second, in the past we maybe would have folded and conceded again, but we got our foot back on it high up the pitch,” he said. "If the game had have ended 2-2 we would have been absolutely devastated because it was a game we should win.

"Glentoran caused problems and asked questions – they are a very good side full of good players and we had to be at that level to get three points.

"I thought we were very good and played some very good stuff.

"I’m a bit disappointed by conceding the goals...the second one was a poor one to concede – I thought we’d weathered a bit of a storm and had got back into it.

"Overall I thought our play was very good, we created some good opportunities and on another day we could have scored more.”