Stephen Baxter 'over the moon' to reunite with 'star quality' Crusaders legend at Carrick Rangers

Baxter, who took charge of almost 1,000 matches during his time as Crues chief before departing last summer, and Burns enjoyed a trophy-laden decade together at Seaview, winning three Premiership titles and three Irish Cup crowns alongside two Co Antrim Shields.

They were also involved in some of the North Belfast club’s most memorable European evenings when Crusaders faced off against Premier League outfit Wolves in 2019 while they also came up against Basel in 2022 Conference League qualifying – the Swiss outfit would go on to reach the semi-finals before losing out to Fiorentina.

It was confirmed last week that Burns, who missed the entirety of last season through injury, was departing the Crues upon expiry of his contract and he has been quickly snapped up by Baxter.

The 36-year-old brings significant experience to Carrick having made over 640 Irish League appearances across spells at Linfield, where he won three Premiership and Irish Cup doubles, and Crusaders.

He has also previously enjoyed personal success having been named both NIFWA Player of the Year and Ulster Footballer of the Year for his performances throughout the 2015/16 campaign and Baxter is backing Burns to make an impact.

“I am delighted to announce the arrival of Billy Joe Burns to Carrick Rangers,” said Baxter. “Sought after by a host of clubs, Billy has chosen the Amber Army as his new home and I’m over the moon with that.

"Billy is simply star quality. A tremendous talent who brings a wealth of experience and know-how to our new look Carrick Rangers team.

"We wish him a warm welcome and look forward to seeing him in the Carrick Rangers shirt really soon.”

Burns joins Aidan Steele, who impressed at Ards last season, as a new recruit at Carrick as Baxter’s men look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign in which they preserved top-flight status through a play-off triumph over Annagh United.

On the hunt for a new chapter after leaving Crusaders, Burns is delighted to have secured a switch to Carrick and admits it was an easy call to link up with Baxter once again.

“I'm excited for a fresh challenge, something new after a long period at Crusaders, I can't wait to get started,” said Burns. “With all the investments around all the different teams, you know it's going to be a very difficult league, but there's no game you go out and try not to win, so that will be my mindset, to win games and hopefully the rest of the boys will be the same.

"I’ve worked with Stephen for so long, he knows a lot about me, I know a lot about him, so that was quite simple.

"I've spoken with players who have been here before and work with Seanan Clucas as well. Everyone has had nice things to say, so it was quite an easy decision.”