Ruaidhri Higgins says players must be switched on against former Derry City target Ruairi Keating in Cork

​The 28 year-old Mayo man was understood to be on Higgins' radar in the summer as the City boss searched for a remedy for his goalscoring problems before ending speculation about a move to Foyleside by signing a new long term deal with the Rebels in July.

Higgins admits he remains an admirer of the Cork hitman who is joint leader of the Premier Division golden boot race alongside Chris Forrester (St Pat's) and Jonathan Afolabi (Bohemians) on 13 goals.

Cork are highly unlikely to sell their prized asset when the transfer window opens at the end of the season and it would most probably require a hefty fee to free him from his contract even if the Munster men were to drop back to the First Division.

Higgins refused to talk about potential transfer targets in his pre-match press conference but singled out the striker for special praise, particularly given how he bounced back following the sudden passing of his father Ciaran after a tragic accident during the summer.

"He's ruthless and he's had a difficult period in his personal life and has bounced back brilliantly," said Higgins. "Real credit to him because I know that's not easy."

Keating has netted five goals in his last five league matches including a hat-trick against Sligo Rovers which earned him the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland September Player of the Month award, piping Derry's Will Patching to the top spot.

"If you give him an inch in the box he normally punishes you so we'll have to be switched on with him," warned Higgins.

"He's a good player and he's improved a lot as the years have gone by and he's someone we need to be wary of. He can score all types of goals, he can run beyond and we have to be prepared for him. He's not the only one, they've a couple in forward areas who can hurt you."

When quizzed about reviving his interest in the player when the season concluded, Higgins was giving little away about his potential targets.

"We'll talk about that once we get the next couple of league games done."

Another man heavily linked with a move to Derry is 27 year-old Dundalk winger Daniel Kelly who is out of contract at the end of the campaign after five years with the Lilywhites.

Dundalk boss Stephen O'Donnell admitted the club are yet to open negotiations with any of their out-of-contract players but he didn't deny there was interest in Kelly from the Candy Stripes.

"I had a chat with Daniel," said O'Donnell. "There's always going to be interest. Likewise, there's interest from us in other players at other clubs also. That's just part and parcel of the end of the season."

With just two games remaining in the current campaign Higgins' total attention is on Cork City and achieving the club's goal of finishing among the European places. Regarding potential moves in the transfer market the City manager responded: "We're at that stage of the season where the rumour mill starts about who's coming and who's going, all those sorts of things but those conversations happen all the time throughout the year for us.

"So listen, we know where we are and what we need to add, we know what might leave the club so we will deal with all that once the season is done."