RUAIDHRI Higgins snapped up ex-Derry City midfielder Will Patching in a sensational loan swoop from Carlisle United but the Coleraine boss has no intention of plotting an imminent raid on his former club.

Speculation has been rife of Higgins' desire to take some of his favourite Derry City stars with him to the Ballycastle Road outfit

with experienced striker Pat Hoban one of those heavily linked with a summer move.

The Limavady man revealed he's 'very close' to completing at least three more summer signings in what has already been an eye-catching window for the Bannsiders but denied he will go hunting for Derry City players, claiming none of those targets are currently at Brandywell.

"I'm very, very close to a lot of deals but none of them include Derry players," revealed Higgins prior to the announcement of Patching's arrival at the Showgrounds.

Higgins, who was appointed Coleraine manager last month, admits he's been left 'frustrated' at rumours linking him to some of his former playing staff in recent days and insists there's 'no truth' in reports he is preparing a swoop for Derry players.

"It can be very, very frustrating for managers and coaches and clubs because you read a lot of stuff that's untrue and it can unsettle the player in question and also unsettle your own players. Especially when there's no real truth involved in it.

"I get that I haven't left the club that long so it's only natural that I'm going to be linked to players. Although there's a lot of top players at Derry that you would love to have, of course, but in truth we're very, very close to some signings and none of them are involved with Derry City - I just want to make that clear!" he stated.

Coleraine manager Ruaidhrí Higgins during the recent Derry City versus Shamrock Rovers game at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

placeholder image — Coleraine manager Ruaidhrí Higgins during the recent Derry City versus Shamrock Rovers game at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

Higgins is beginning to put his own stamp on the Coleraine squad after just five weeks in the post and Patching's arrival and that of ex-Linfield star Joel Cooper and Kodi Lyons-Foster, will provide plenty of excitement around the Showgrounds this summer.

He didn't have the luxury of building a squad in his first season at Derry in 2021 but still managed to guide them from bottom of the table and into Europe - one of his proudest achievements as City boss.

The former Derry and Dundalk midfielder has an ambitious vision for the club and he's delighted to be back in the game after a much needed six month break following his exit from Brandywell.

"A lot of the signings were done before I got the job. Cody Lyons-Foster is the one that I personally had done but the other three - the wheels were in motion and basically the deals were done. In saying that, all three players are excellent so I'm not going to complain.

Former Derry star Will Patching celebrates with Ruaidhrí Higgins at Oriel Park.

"I really enjoyed my time off but I'm delighted to be back at it and enjoying the planning and preparations for pre-season. There's a lot of work to be done in the background.

"The club has been very helpful in helping me settle in. There's a lot of really good people around the place that are eager to help so it's great.

"We have a vision of what we want. We want young, hungry players. We want to bring in one or two who possibly have a point to prove as well that have had a wee bit of a setback in recent times. We want a hungry squad. They obviously finished 30 points behind the champions last season so we have to obviously cut that drastically.

"We want to be competing at the top end. There's no reason why we can't. There's three trophies available and we want to do as best we can in all of them. We certainly have to improve on the point deficit there was in previous years."

Having won the FAI Cup with Derry City and built a title challenging squad on Foyleside during his successful three-and-a-half year tenure, Higgins was never going to go to a club where he didn't think there was potential for silverware. And Coleraine have certainly matched his ambitions so far with the arrival of some big named players.

"It's year one and we're very lucky, myself and Conor [Loughery] and Gerard Boyle, that we've gone to a club that is very, very ambitious and we're ambitious and the players are ambitious and hungry. So we're really excited about it."

They came up short in the European play-offs but Higgins believes that experience will stand him in good stead going into the new campaign.

"The two games were great because I got to work with the players for a week or so in between and get to see their characters and personalities and how they train. It gave me a good 10 days or so to evaluate the squad and get to know some of them personally, albeit briefly because the personalities and characters in the group are really important that we have the right people.

"So it was very useful. It allowed me to plan for what we need going forward.

"It's obviously disappointing that we're not going to be playing European football but it gives us a longer summer to plan and prepare and make sure we're as prepared as best as we can be going into the new season."

While Derry players may be off radar at present, Higgins hasn't finished his recruitment drive and the League of Ireland market could be a fruitful avenue for the Bannsiders boss.

"It is an attractive market but the problem is a lot of the players are halfway through their season and so clubs don't tend to do business and that's understandable.

"We have to look within our own league as well which can be very difficult because the top players are normally all contracted and in England and Scotland so we've cast the net out and we're confident and close to getting a few deals."