Ciaron Harkin determined to repay faith as he signs Derry City contract extension

Derry City manager Ruaidhri Higgins and midfielder Ciaron Harkin who signed a two and a half year contract extension this morning.

The 25-year old who has made 76 appearances for the Candystripes, has been in excellent form of late and the new deal will keep him at his hometown club until the end of the 2023 season at least and manager Higgins was glowing in his appraisal of the Creggan man.

"Since I've walked in the door he has been brilliant," said the City boss. "You can see him develop week on week but he is also growing as a leader within the squad.

"He's a Derry City boy through and through and to have someone of that quality and with that level of commitment it was a no brainer for me and for the club to have him here for at least another two-and-a-half years."

City CEO Sean Barrett echoed those sentiments adding that this was another clear statement from the club.

"We said we wanted to attract good players to Derry City and to invest in lads who know what the club is about and Ciaron Harkin fits both of those. It is important for us that these quality local players are committing to Derry City for the long term."

"We've made that commitment in terms of the manager and we want to go the same direction with those players as well. That's what the sustainability of the club relies on. We're delighted that Ciaron has signed a long-term deal."

As for the player himself, "Jackie" insisted he was happy to get his future secured and was looking forward to seeing how far the club could go.

"I feel I've been playing well but also that as a team we've been getting better. The fact that the club is now signing players on longer deals is a positive thing for us. It's more difficult when so much is changing every year but I know for me personally I want to keep getting better and repay the manager for his belief in me."

"Hopefully there will be plenty of good things happening here over the next few seasons and I'm delighted to be part of that."

City start a busy few days with a couple of North West derbies- first up is Finn Harps at Ballybofey tomorrow night (Friday) before Sligo Rovers come calling to the Brandywell on Monday evening.