Stephen McDonnell goal to deliver 'exciting brand of football' in first interview as Glenavon boss

​McDonnell was yesterday confirmed as the fresh face to move the Mourneview Park outfit forward following the end of the Gary Hamilton era earlier this month after almost 12 years.

McDonnell, who returns to the Irish League after the end of his time at Warrenpoint Town in 2019, will kick off life as Glenavon boss at home to defending Premiership champions Larne on Saturday with the club on seven points from nine games.

"I'm really excited for the challenge ahead,” said McDonnell in his first interview as Glenavon boss, on the club’s official social media platforms. “It's been a long drawn-out process but we're here now and I'm very happy to be here.

“I met the Board maybe over a week ago now at this stage and obviously left a very good impression with them so I've got the nod to take over the reins here.

“I think there's huge potential to develop the game here in terms of the game model and the way we want to go about things.

"There's seasoned pros in the dressing room, lads with league titles under their belts and Irish Cup medals under their belts so that's not be sniffed at.

"We've got to really lean on these guys...obviously there's a lovely blend of youth as well.

"The Academy here has flourished for a number of years and with my own background we'll certainly be looking to accelerate players at a quicker rate if the ability is there.

"I took away a lot from my time at Warrenpoint and I've gained lots of extra knowledge since then and I'm really looking forward to getting started here and trying to implement a few things asap.

“Anybody who sat up and took notice from my first stint (at Warrenpoint) we like to have a very, very clear identity on and off the ball, I think that's massively important not to have mixed signals for the players.

“I'm extremely hands-on, I'll be on the pitch every single evening demanding standards and a lot of things in terms of how we want to go and play the game.

"We can certainly expect to try and play an exciting brand of football, that's what I want to do...it's the way I believe it should be played so I'm going to stay true to myself and try to implement that with this group of players.

“You have to pay respect to the teams in this league, the league has evolved over the last number of years and there's some top teams.

“We start here with the champions on Saturday.

"We've also have to identify areas where we think we can go and have great influence on the game and that's certainly the level of detail I'll be looking to get into the players.

“There's no challenge too difficult, you've got to roll your sleeves up and be optimistic and be positive.

“There's no reason why you can't get results because I've been there before when play top teams.

“You can get results if you prepare properly.”