Tiernan Lynch pleased with Derry City's pre-season progress

​New signings have integrated into the set-up seamlessly and some are understandably further advanced in their match fitness progress than others.

Dom Thomas, Liam Boyce and Carl Winchester are at the end of their second pre-season and have plenty of games under their belts already with their previous clubs [Queen's Park, Hearts and Shrewsbury Town]. Sam Todd and Ciaron Harkin have also been playing regularly during loan spells with Larne and Coleraine respectively.

They're obviously well ahead of schedule while Gavin Whyte, Robbie Benson, Shane Ferguson and the rest of the squad have more minutes to get into the legs.

Lynch was pleased with how Tuesday's friendly win over 'Stute went and he's confident his team will be ready once that season opener against Shelbourne comes around.

"We're hoping to get Ballymena and possibly another game next week to top us off," he said. "I think it's now about getting minutes in boys' legs.

"It's a strange one because there's players like Carl Winchester and Dom Thomas - it's going to be a long season for them. They're not going to get a break. They will go right through and so managing them as best you can at these times is critical.

"Then there's people like Gavin [Whyte] and Robbie [Benson] who probably came into preseason that wee bit later and need a little bit more work.

"So there's an element of trying to balance legs and fitness as well as trying to get a team on the pitch where you're going to get a blend and try to produce the game-model we want to produce.

"I actually really enjoyed it [against 'Stute]. There was a good crowd in and it made a wee bit of an atmosphere. I think you can see the little bits and pieces we're trying to implement.

"I was pleased with the boys' attitude and their workrate. They're a group of boys who are working unbelievably hard at the moment. They're pretty much doing double sessions every single day. "They're eager to go and get better and get fitter and try to implement the game model we're trying to produce to them. They're taking it on board brilliantly.

"There's quality players in that changing room and more importantly quality boys which is half your battle."

'Jackie' Harkin's second half performance was particularly pleasing and he topped it off with a stunning pass for Michael Duffy's second goal.

"Listen, 'Jackie' has his faults like most players but what 'Jackie' gives you probably epitomises Derry City Football Club.

"He wears his heart in his sleeve and that's what you want here. Somebody who will run through brick walls and when the going gets tough that's always the sign of how good this team can potentially be.

"With all due respect, tonight's not going to give you any real idea of what this club is hopefully going to do over the next eight or nine months, it will be when you're in the trenches which will determine where we go this year."