Warrenpoint Town captain admits losing Barry Gray is 'big blow' but club's promotion ambitions remain the same

Gray had spent four years at the Milltown helm during his second stint before switching to neighbours Newry City earlier this week.

The 43-year-old had led the County Down outfit to fourth in the Premier Intermediate League table and steadied the ship after Warrenpoint, who finished second in the Championship last season before being denied licences to not only stop their top-flight promotion bid but also remain in the league, were demoted to the third-tier.

Gray’s presence was key in ensuring important players committed their immediate futures to the club with plans set to return to the pinnacle of Irish League football in the near future, and while saying the news was “a bit of a shock”, McCaffrey wished his former boss well in the next chapter.

"Barry was a massive part of Warrenpoint and the things he did behind the scenes a lot of people haven't seen,” he said. “Over 20 years the things he has done only people in the club can understand how much it meant to him and how much he did.

"Now he wants a bigger challenge and to be fair to him it's Premiership football. The only thing is it is Newry and there's a bit of a rivalry there, but I wish him all the best. He has his own reasons why he did it. I really get on well with him as a person and he did a lot for me.

"If we had have won on Monday we would have went top of the league. We did concede in the 92nd minute which put a dampener on it, but the timing of it wasn't great and anyone in football will tell you that.

"Midway through the season, trying to win a league and trying to go up, getting that news the night before a big game against Armagh City – it was a big blow.

"At the end of the day, it's football and you see in England and elsewhere that nobody is manager of a team for more than four years so it does happen. It was a bit of a shock but these things happen and it's how the club reacts now.”

John Gill, who was part of Gray’s backroom staff, has been appointed interim manager until the end of this season with his first assignment Saturday’s trip to Windsor Park for an Irish Cup fifth round tie against Premiership leaders Linfield.

Promotion remains the most important thing to McCaffrey and a club that were in the top-flight as recently as 2022.

"One reason why Barry got players to stay was because the plan was getting to the Premiership in two years and that's still going to be the same,” he added. “The plan is to win the league and get promotion – nothing has changed.

"The league is tough. Limavady have strengthened, Ballymacash are a decent team, Queen's have been playing good stuff, Rathfriland - it's not a walkover. The plan is still to gain promotion and get into the Championship first and go from there."