Conor McMenamin's Move to Glentoran: Best for Everyone
Ruaidhri Higgins has called Conor McMenamin’s abrupt switch from Coleraine to Glentoran “best for everyone” after a whirlwind 10 weeks that never quite settled on the north coast.
McMenamin arrived at the Showgrounds from St Mirren in June, billed as a marquee addition and a key part of Coleraine’s full-time push. By deadline day, he was gone, heading for the Oval, with midfielder Joe Thomson moving the other way in a straight swap that reshaped both squads.
Speaking after the deal was done, the Northern Ireland winger admitted “it wasn’t meant to be” at Coleraine. Higgins didn’t argue.
“Sometimes in football and just life in general, things don't go as expected or according to plan,” said the Coleraine boss, freshly named August’s manager of the month by the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association. “It's certainly not a personal issue with Conor at all.”
For McMenamin, 31, the problem was as much geography as football. He never committed to relocating from Downpatrick to the north coast and made it clear that family and personal matters drove his decision to move on. The daily grind of roughly 75 miles each way – about 90 minutes on the road every morning and night – quickly became a fault line.
Higgins understood the strain.
He called that commute “not sustainable” and revealed the pair had been in constant dialogue as the window ticked down.
“Conor and I had regular conversations over the last couple of weeks actually,” he said. “We've come to this conclusion and I think it's best for everyone.”
If McMenamin’s exit stole the headlines, Thomson’s arrival quietly solved a pressing problem. With Mark Coyle and Rowan McDonald both sidelined, Coleraine were thin in central midfield. Thomson, who worked under Higgins at Derry City, drops straight into a core group that already includes Will Patching and Dylan Boyle.
“Joe is so different to the players that we have. He plays with an edge and he has a goal in him,” Higgins said. “He's very much box-to-box and all-action, and I've worked with him before so I know what I'm getting.”
The deadline business didn’t stop there.
Coleraine also prised Adam Brooks from Crusaders, a move Higgins had been lining up for some time. The 22-year-old Scottish forward, a former Celtic striker, spent much of last season out wide at Seaview, but still started this campaign in eye-catching fashion, hitting a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Portadown.
Higgins has tracked him closely and sees far more than just a wide option.
He described Brooks as “a young player with huge talent” and ran through a finisher’s toolkit that belies his stature.
“For not the biggest lad in the world he scores good headed goals, with his right foot, left foot, he can score from distance and inside the six yard box,” Higgins said. “He's got good awareness and so much to his game. I think if he was six foot two he would have never played in this league because he would be somewhere else.
“We see it as an investment and someone we can develop, and I've no doubt that Adam can kick on and once he establishes himself here, it wouldn't surprise me if he went on to another level in the coming years.”
This wasn’t a snap judgement. Higgins recalled watching Brooks for Crusaders at Portadown last season and being immediately sold.
“Straight away I really liked what I was seeing,” he said. “I know he's a brilliant boy and he played out of position a lot last year, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a top, top centre forward. He's very like a Robbie Keane sort of mould and that type of centre forward, and there's a lot I like about him.”
All of this plays into a bigger picture at Coleraine.
Last season they finished just three points behind eventual champions Larne after a powerful late surge. Investment off the pitch and the switch to full-time football have changed the mood around the Showgrounds. The Bannsiders are no longer plucky outsiders; they are being talked about as genuine contenders for the Gibson Cup.
The club has only one league title to its name, won back in 1974. The next one, if it comes, would land in their centenary year.
“To me it's trying to win the second league title in the club's history, and it would be extra-special if you could do it in the centenary year,” Higgins said. “On a daily basis, I put myself under massive pressure and that's why we are here. We want to be part of a successful, ambitious club.”
Right now, the pressure is fuelling momentum rather than stifling it. Higgins says he is “very lucky” and “loving” life at Coleraine, and the numbers back that up: three wins and a draw from their opening four league games, including a point against champions Larne, and three clean sheets in that run.
“We're obviously really happy with the start, and we're particularly happy with the three clean sheets out of four, and we're scoring goals again which is pleasing,” he said. “We're four games in, so we'll not get too excited, but the players have been fantastic and it's a joy to work with them and the staff on a daily basis.”
Next up is a trip to Crusaders on Saturday at 18:00 BST, a quick reunion with Brooks’ former club and an early test of whether Coleraine’s reshaped squad can turn a promising start into a sustained title charge.
