Derry City's Ciaron Harkin ready for the big kick-off at Dundalk

The Creggan native believes the Brandywell men aren’t just focusing on the forthcoming season but on future campaigns with the likes of Patrick McEleney, Matty Smith, Michael Duffy and Will Patching all signing long term deals, while youth team players Liam Mullan and Daithi McCallion also pledged their futures.

“Derry City is looking at the long term and it’s looking good,” he insisted. “For me it’s something different because normally a new season has been getting used to the new faces and meeting new people, but obviously Ruaidhri has brought in players that everyone knows about.

“Patrick, Shane (McEleney) and Mickey are all from the city; I have played with (Will) Patching before, I have also played with Cameron Dummigan before with Northern Ireland U21 and I know of Brandon Kavanagh and Brian Maher and having played against Matty Smith last season, so it’s all boys that I’m familiar with.

“We all know how good they are and they have settled in really well and everyone just can’t wait to get started and see how good we can do as a team.

“Obviously there’s a lot of people talking about this season, but there’s a lot of people coming up through the youth teams and not just the young players as there has been a lot of boys have signed on two or three year deals, so it’s not just about this season.”

The 26-year-old has flourished under Ruaidhri Higgins’ stewardship but he knows this season is going to be just as tough to hold down a place in midfield as the Candy Stripes have added real quality to their squad.

“Last year I got my spot under Ruaidhri and I know that there’s a lot of competition this year, so I’ll have to keep working hard, keep doing what I’m doing whenever I get my chance, so that I can make sure that I stay in there,” he added.

“Personally I’m hoping to have a good season and if I can do that then that will mean I have helped the team.

“We had a good finish to the season last year and it gave me a bit of confidence and just looking at my own game and thinking what I can do to firstly keep myself in the team and then obviously make myself more confident and better as a player.

“I’m looking forward to the season starting and as I have a bit more confidence I’m now looking to bring that into the start of the season now.

City travel to Dundalk on Friday night before hosting champions Shamrock Rovers on February 25th and Harkin is looking forward to getting the season up and running.

“I’m really excited, because obviously in training I’m seeing and working with all the new signings, the squad that we have, we are all looking forward to getting started and seeing what we can do this year,” he added.

“There is a buzz and obviously during pre-season there was a big massive buzz, so hopefully when the season starts we can drive that on and obviously give the supporters something to cheer about when everything kicks off.

“But yeah it’s really exciting for us as players and while there’s a buzz outside of the squad for us we too have a buzz and everyone is just looking forward to the Dundalk game.”

The former Coleraine man, who had 35 appearances last season, also acknowledges that not only is he hoping to perform well for his home town club, but he wants to do the business week in and week out for family.

“Life has changed over the last few years, it’s different now,” he explained. “I’m obviously not just doing things for myself but also for my family, which to be honest I have always been doing, but yeah now that I’m a father and Indie is going to be at the matches watching, it’s going to be an exciting year and I’m looking forward to it.”