DERRY CITY: Defender Karner signs up

Derry City manager Kenny Shiels welcomes new signing Maximilian Karner.

Currently with centre-back duo Ryan McBride and Aaron Barry both out for a number of weeks, boss Kenny Shiels gave Spanish defender Cristian Castells his debut in Friday night’s FAI Cup win at Bohemians, but he’ll be hoping that the big Austrian hits the ground running.

Shiels is delighted to have signed the 26-year-old former Levski Sofia man.

“Max has come in, he’s quality and he’s got a really good pedigree and it’s fantastic to have him for the last three months of the season,” stated Shiels.

“He’s a big centre-back, who’s a good distributer of the ball, he builds up the play and he’s everything that we want.

“We have to be looking now because Ryan and Aaron haven’t got much season left by the time they get back from their injuries.

“We have got three defenders on suspensions pending, as they are one more booking away, so I’m delighted to have added Max.”

Shiels also knows that with 10 league games remaining a European spot is well within their grasp but he knows that the likes of Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers in particular are closing on his side.

“We have a double header against Shamrock Rovers, which are key crucial games and we have to have a good defence fit for those games,” he added.