'We want more players of that level' - Stephen McDonnell outlines Glenavon's summer transfer plans following Rhys Marshall return

​After seven successful seasons under Gary Hamilton at the Lurgan Blues, which included winning two Irish Cup crowns, Marshall departed his hometown club for Shamrock Rovers in 2020 and has spent the past three-and-a-half years with Glentoran.

His arrival marks McDonnell’s first piece of transfer business as he continues to plan for the future after Saturday’s 3-1 Premiership defeat against Loughgall left the Mourneview Park outfit five points adrift of seventh spot with three matches remaining.

The 32-year-old signed eight players in January, including the likes of goalkeeper Gareth Deane, James Doona and David Toure, and admits there will be further business this summer with Marshall a benchmark of the quality that he’s keen to recruit.

"I want the very, very best players at this football club that we can afford,” he said. “When players like Rhys come up and we can have a conversation about what we want to do, that's where we want to get to.

"We want more players of that level...Rhys Marshall is one of the top players in this league and we will be adding - we have to.

"That's the level of where we want to get to and we'll be doing our best to make sure this team is as good as it can be for next season."

McDonnell isn’t just searching for quality players, but also the right characters that can help propel Glenavon back up the Premiership table after a mixed campaign where they’ve lost 20 of 35 league matches.

"You look at my business in January...we inquired about certain players in this league and there's nobody willing to do business, which is understandable,” he added. “We had to go to a free market down south and take in a number of players that have to adjust to a lot of things.

"Now we're coming into the summer window where the players we were interested in we can genuinely have conversations.

"It's a difficult sell because you get paid more money in full-time football, but getting a player with the right hunger and drive that wants to wake this sleeping beast up, that's what we're after and trying to sell.

"It's a busy time because we don't want to be reactive in the market. We're very clear and specific about what we want and need.

"You'll have everyone that will put their ideas forward, but we know what we need to further improve us.

"It's a busy time because you're always trying to stay ahead of the rush and we want to have our business done extremely early so we can hit the ground running in pre-season."

On Saturday’s defeat, McDonnell said: "I thought we were really good on it in the first-half and definitely the team that was the most assertive, but the problem is when you’re on top and don’t take your chances and then give away a goal from a set-piece and a second from a throw in – if you can’t do the basics from a defensive standpoint then it’s very hard.

"We weren’t lethal enough and the message was to go and play, but we’ve reverted back to type with some players and they’ve done their own thing."