Thomas McBride.
Former Linfield manager David Jeffrey may be rethinking his initial prediction for Institute this season, having made the claim early on that the Derry side were his favourites to get relegated this term.
In Saturday’s Premiership opener, the Sky Blues travelled to Dungannon Swifts, earning a well-deserved 2-2 draw on the back of a very positive performance at Stangmore Park – and many are now seeing Paul Kee’s squad as a greater threat.
With this, David Jeffrey has picked out ex-Derry City midfielder Thomas McBride as one to watch this year, stating that he expects him to “have a big influence on the (Institute) team” in a “familiar fashion to Phillip Lowry” when Lowry played for the Riverside outlet.
McBride played 77 minutes against Darren Murphy’s men before having to leave the field with an injury, and having helped to maintain a 1-0 lead up until this point, the 22-year old showed his potential clearly, linking up well with brace-goalscorer Stephen O’Flynn.
Speaking to us after the Dungannon match, McBride: “From a personal perspective I’m quite happy with my performance today, it’s never easy to adjust to an unfamiliar position quickly, or to walk on and play at this standard of football again, but I think I managed to cope with the task at hand well.”
“It was tough having to hobble off while we were still in the lead, but I couldn’t afford to play on after taking a heavy knock, it wouldn’t have helped the team, and may have aggravated the injury more.”
“Overall I’m just happy that we’ve managed to leave here with a point today, slightly disappointing that we couldn’t get the win but it’s a good start for us, and there’s plenty more to come from Stute this season.”
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