Ruaidhri Higgins beams with delight as 'very elegant' Will Patching makes permanent switch to the Coleraine Showgrounds
Ruaidhri Higgins believes Will Patching will be “a big part” of Coleraine’s future after the talented midfielder turned his loan switch into a permanent move at The Showgrounds.
The Englishman initially joined the Bannsiders on a loan deal from parent club Carlisle United and has put in several eye-catching performances, which has yielded six goals in 25 appearances in all competitions.
However, the temporary move has now turned into a permanent one after the 27-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with Higgins’ men.
Patching, who started his career at Manchester City, has had spells in senior football at Notts County, Dundalk and Derry City, where he worked under Coleraine chief Higgins at the latter.
It marks the latest piece of business for Coleraine this month as they have already confirmed the arrivals of Mark Connolly, James Akintunde and Ben Wylie.
Speaking about Patching’s permanent switch, Higgins said: “It’s been in the pipeline for quite a while and it’s clear how much we rate him and how much we value him as a footballer.
“I think now that this is done permanently, we’ll see him kick on again and we’re delighted that he’s going to be a major part of our future.
“He’s an exceptional footballer, very elegant, but what people maybe wouldn’t see is his desire to win and how much not winning upsets him.
“I think when we took the job here, he was very quickly a player that we identified that we would like to build a team around.
“We’re just delighted that that’s going to continue into the next few years.”
Despite Coleraine falling further behind Larne in the title race, Patching remarked how he and his team-mates still have so much to play for in the second half of the campaign.
He explained: “I’m delighted...it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve known but happy to get it over the line and want to kick on for the rest of the season.
"I’ve enjoyed it. The lads have been great from the minute I’ve walked through the door, excited to carry on and achieve something with them.
"Everything is up for grabs and with the squad we have...we have to be looking to push for silverware.”