Kenny secures two-year deal at the Brandywell

National League News round-upDerry City manager Stephen Kenny has signed a two year contract extension with the Brandywell club after a season in which he led them to within a whisker of pipping champions Cork City to the Eircom League title.

Kenny, sacked by Bohemians midway through the 2004 season, has utterly transformed the fortunes of Derry since moving there, and his efforts have been rewarded by a club determined that he will stick around to finish what he has started.

"The negotiations didn't exactly take very long," said Kenny yesterday. "They came to me and said they'd like to work something out for the longer term and I was very happy to do that. I've been very well treated by everyone here and I was delighted with the way they handled this. It's great news for me, to be honest."

The new deal will keep Kenny at the Brandywell until the end of the 2008 season and the Dubliner is hoping to build on the progress made during the past 15 months.

"A lot of people will look at what we did this year, see that it's been a good season but feel that we'll struggle to maintain it," he said.

"My feeling would be that there's still huge potential to move forward and that's what everyone at the club wants to do.

"At the start of the season a lot of people in these parts wouldn't have felt there was a huge amount between ourselves and Finn Harps but we ended up finishing 51 points above them in the table and winning a trophy.

"With the crowds that that level of success attracted to the Brandywell we've already shown that this is one of the biggest clubs in the country.

"Players want to come here now and that's a major help. I have great back-up from people like Paul Hegarty and Declan Devine, a good squad, so I'm very confident about the future."

Kenny's latest addition to the squad, meanwhile, is former Bohemians defender Ken Oman, who was released by the Dublin club last month after what was, by the standards of the young central defender, a disappointing campaign.

"People will say that he didn't have the best of years but Ken's only 23 and he is potentially as good as anyone who is out there," says Kenny.

"He's been let go by Bohemians but that sort of thing has never determined my thinking about players. You have to trust your own instincts on these things and we've seen with lads like Killian Brennan and Barry Molloy, both of whom were very influential here this year, that someone else's 'cast off' if you want to use the term, can prove to be a very valuable signing."

City, meanwhile, are still pursuing prolific Finn Harps striker Kevin McHugh, who looks certain to leave the Ballybofey club following its relegation to the first division.

Nothing is expected to be decided regarding McHugh's future until early in the new year and City face competition for his signature from a string of clubs both north and south of the border with Linfield and Portadown amongst the Irish league sides actively interested.

Former Arsenal midfielder Stephen Bradley, meanwhile, is the latest Drogheda United player to confirm his immediate future lies at United Park despite interest in the underage international from both Fulham and Reading.

The English clubs have recently had the Dubliner watched but Bradley has signed a new deal while Paul Doolin has added Brian Shelley and James Keddy to his squad for next year.

Alan Cawley, whose move from UCD to Shelbourne prompted the threat of legal action and a major challenge to the transfer system in Ireland last year, is to return to Belfield.