Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree has praised Sean McAllister’s character after bouncing back from the disappointment of returning home from England to produce impressive form at Stangmore Park.

McAllister earned a move from Dungannon to Premier League giants Everton in 2019 and was quickly rewarded with a professional contract.

He was a regular for the Toffees’ U21s and also enjoyed a successful loan spell at Scottish outfit Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but McAllister’s time at Everton was cut short due to injury.

The 23-year-old returned to Northern Ireland ahead of the current campaign with former club Dungannon winning the race for McAllister’s signature amidst Irish League interest.

placeholder image — Dungannon's Sean McAllister celebrates scoring in his side's Irish Cup win over Ards. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

He has scored six goals in 20 Premiership appearances this term, including a hat-trick in last month’s win over Portadown, and also found the net as the Swifts began their Irish Cup defence with a comfortable 3-0 triumph against Ards on Saturday.

Having gone through a similar experience after his own playing career in England, McAree, who enjoyed spells at the likes of Liverpool and Fulham, can empathise with the difficulty of making a successful transition.

McAree signed for Glenavon in 2000 before rounding his career out at hometown club Dungannon, helping them reach an Irish Cup final.

"It was great to have Sean back, he picked up a bad dead leg so it was great to see him back,” said McAree. “He doesn’t score many headers – he will say that’s not his strength!

"It was a fantastic ball from Leo (Alves) and a great diving header. It was brave as well because he has thrown himself into an area where he could have picked up a stray boot.

"It was nice to see him score, I thought his overall game was good and it was good to get him minutes.

"It has been tough for him. It’s tough for players coming back from England, I came back from England and went to Glenavon – I didn’t produce the best performances of my career.

"I think he was out for 10 months with a thigh injury so he has to find his feet and we have to be patient with him, we have to give him time.

"He has been a great signing for us.”

After Portadown defeated Annagh United on Tuesday, McAree’s men now know they’ll face an Irish Cup sixth round trip to Shamrock Park next month.

The Swifts are determined to retain the trophy they won for the first time in club history last term and McAree feels he’s currently in charge of Dungannon’s best-ever squad.

"When you see it (Irish Cup) sitting upstairs and you’re looking at it, you don’t want to let it go,” he added. “If we’re going to bow out of the competition, which we could well do at some point, we have to go out fighting and give it all we’ve got.

"It’s tough this year when you see the quality coming into the league and the quality other teams have, but I think this is the best squad of players I’ve ever seen at Dungannon Swifts.

"There’s a wealth of talent from one right through to 24, we have a very strong squad and that’s nice to see.”