Paddy McLaughlin makes decision on Cliftonville future

McLaughlin, who has been in charge at Solitude for the past two-and-a-half years, had been heavily linked with the vacant assistant manager's role at Derry City.

But the 41-year-old has decided to extend his spell in north Belfast following talks with Chairman Gerard Lawlor.

The Reds narrowly missed out on a place in the Europa Conference League following their defeat to Larne in Saturday's play-off final.

Lawlor is pleased to see McLaughlin stay on at Solitude and praises his hard work and commitment to the club

“We are very pleased to have agreed a new deal with Paddy and look forward to building on the hard work he has done in the last two-and-a-half years," he told the club website.

“The season just finished was a very challenging one on and off the park but one thing that never relented was Paddy’s determination and desire to improve Cliftonville every day of every week and I have no doubt he will continue to work as hard as he has ever done as we build towards next season.”