Murray views Cork as stronger unit

Cork City captain Dan Murray thinks that his team’s current squad is amongst the strongest he has been involved with since first joining the club.

The Leesiders were expected to mount a title challenge last year with Alan Mathews coming in as manager, but things didn’t exactly go to plan.

After hitting on a good run – aided by the goals of striker Dave Mooney – the club announced that their owners Arkaga wanted out and that left the Munster outfit with massive debts to pay off.

A spell in examinership ended when Tom Coughlan bought the club and the team even managed to win some silverware when they beat Glentoran at Turner’s Cross to lift the Setanta Sports Cup.

It is all change again for this season though with Paul Doolin replacing Matthews as manager, a host of new signings coming in, and a new mindset in place about what the team can achieve in 2009.

Murray, who almost left during pre-season, is pleased that the focus is switching back towards the football as he believes Cork have a strong squad this year that can compete for top spot in the Premier Division.

“We are looking forward to the season. It is a fresh start for the whole league after all of the financial difficulties and off-the-field matters,” said Murray.

“I think we have a really decent team and can do things this year. It is a clean slate in a way as there is a new manager, a new owners, and a number of new players.

“Last season is not one to really remember except for winning the Setanta Sports Cup. We want to move on from that and I’m sure the fans do too. We want to get back to playing good football and winning trophies.

“The manager has brought in some very good players and it is noticeable even in pre-season that they add a bit more quality to the team. We already had some excellent players here, but you need competition for places and I think we have that now.

“If you look at every position we have at least two guys. Even in central midfield we have three of the best players in the league. I think we are a lot stronger and hopefully that can allow us to win some silverware.”