'We're really lucky to have him' - Dean Shiels praises Coleraine's midfield maestro who tops the Premiership in crucial stats
Coleraine head coach Dean Shiels feels his side are “really lucky to have” midfield maestro Dylan Boyle after making an impressive start to life at the Showgrounds.
Boyle made the switch from local rivals Ballymena United, where he was named ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ last season for playing a key role in helping Jim Ervin’s side avoid relegation, during the summer and has played every minute of 14 Premiership matches so far for Shiels’ side.
No top-flight midfielder has made more accurate passes than the 22-year-old (629) – Dungannon Swifts ace Gael Bigirimana (589) and Cliftonville star Rohan Doherty (588) make up the podium according to Sofascore – while he has also made 85 interceptions, which puts him joint-top with Josh Carson, who went in the opposition direction to Boyle in the most recent transfer window.
The former Fleetwood Town youngster plays a crucial role for the Bannsiders and ahead of Saturday’s clash with Dungannon Swifts, Shiels has hailed the quality of his midfield general.
"He's massive for us and I'm absolutely delighted with Dylan and the progress he has made,” he said. “He's a young player that came back from England and was superb for Ballymena last year.
"I think he maybe went a bit unnoticed...Ballymena didn't have a great season and he was in a struggling team. When I looked at his individual clips from last season he was really impressive.
"If you watch Dylan Boyle instead of watching the game, you'll see a really smart player. He links play well and the bottom of midfield is really important for us in the way we want to play in and out of possession.
"He's clever, his attitude on and off the pitch is first class and we're really lucky to have Dylan."
While results have been mixed at the start of Coleraine’s transition into full-time football, the County Londonderry outfit sit second when it comes to points earned at home, collecting 13 from seven matches – a number only Dungannon Swifts (16) can better – and Shiels is keen to continue with that positive trend.
"It’s massively important and it’s one of the things we focused on in pre-season, discussing how we could make it difficult for teams coming to the Showgrounds,” he added. “We’ve been working on galvanising the fans and using the number of them that come to the home games, getting them behind us and using them to our advantage.
"That’s definitely something we’re really looking to improve on as the season continues with being hard to beat at home. There’s still areas for improvement in that.”