Paddy McLaughlin to be in Derry City dug-out at Turner's Cross

The Creggan man, who stepped down as Cliftonville manager on Monday evening, has replaced Alan Reynolds as Higgins’ number two, much to the Limavady man’s delight.

“He has great history here and was part of the 2002 cup winning team. It’s his hometown club and I’m really pleased to have him here,” admitted Higgins.

“Paddy brings a vast amount of experience and quality and he did a fantastic job at Cliftonville.

“He’ll bring so much to the players and he gives a real balance to our staff as a group.

“I’m really looking forward to working with him on a daily basis.”

As for tomorrow evening’s clash at Turner’s Cross, the Limavady man confirmed that the likes of Patrick McEleney, Jamie McGonigle and Ryan Graydon are all struggling, but on the plus side Cameron Dummigan and Mark Connolly could be back soon.

"Patrick has got a wee problem at the minute, that's frustrating for him and frustrating for us," he explained. "Connolly and Dummigan are still out and they're working extremely hard to get back and, fingers crossed, I think they're more weeks away from coming back rather than months.

"We also have players who are back up and at it, we've players like Adam O'Reilly and Michael Duffy who are searching for match fitness now, so in time and hopefully not too long, I'm fully confident we'll hit top gear and be a really good, exciting team."

Higgins also admits that Colin Healy has assembled a big physical side, who will cause the Candystripes all sorts of problems, particularly at Turner's Cross, but he’s aiming for his players to control the game and secure the win.

"Their home form is where they've got their points and they'll be very strong at home,” added Higgins.

"They're a real big physical team, they put long throw-ins into your box, free-kicks from the half-way line into your box, corners into your box and they can cause you major, major problems from those situations but they've also got a sprinkling of talent as well, people who can do stuff off the cuff and hurt you.

"We know that we're going down to a difficult but brilliant venue, hopefully the pitch is in good nick. Hopefully we can go there and try to control the game and get the three points, as that's the aim."

The Brandywell men, who travelled to Cork today, sit five points behind leaders Bohemians in third place, this despite dropping points from their last three games, but Higgins feels his team will continue to improve, especially as the squad gets bigger with the injured players returning.

"It's important also to note that we weren't cut adrift, we're right in the mix,” insisted the Derry boss.

"There's only 10 games played, we've players on the way back, we've players back, so all is not lost and I think this team will grow, get better and develop and I think we'll be a real force and hopefully that can happen sooner rather than later, but I'm extremely confident in this group of players.”