19 January 2016
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City FC are delighted to confirm that Danny Morrissey has signed a new contract with the club.
Speaking to CorkCityFC.ie, the striker said: “I’m delighted to sign for another year. Hopefully it is going to be another big year for us and hopefully we will have a bit of silverware to show for it come the end of the season.”
Morrissey has endured a number of injury problems over the past couple of seasons, but he said he has trained regularly over the close season without any adverse reaction after coming back into the fold towards the end of last season: “Things were good at the end of last season. We have done a number of weeks training already now and I have not had any reactions; I’m fit and looking forward to getting started.”
“John has brought in a few quality players and competition for places is always good. I just want to hit the ground running; we have much of the fitness work already done, so we just want to get a good pre-season under our belt and look forward to the first game.”
The 22-year-old also confirmed that he will move to the number 9 jersey for the coming season, saying: “John offered it to me yesterday; he thought I could do with a fresh start and hopefully it will prove to be a lucky number for me.”
City boss John Caulfield also expressed his hope that the attacker is over his injury issues and will show his ability in the coming season, saying: “Everyone knows the potential Danny has, and he has been very unfortunate with injuries since I have come in. He only really became involved in the second half of last season and, as we all know, he got the winner in the cup semi-final and also scored against St. Pat’s.”
“It’s a huge season for Danny, he has tremendous potential and the brilliant thing about it is that he has been on an off-season programme for the last seven weeks and he is in fantastic condition. I am just hoping that, this season, he can show the potential he has and stay injury free.”
“In the second half of last season, we saw glimpses of what he can do and, from my point of view and Danny’s, it is a huge season, so touch wood he will avoid injuries. He has tremendous ability, he’s a goalscorer and we have missed him.”
The City players return to pre-season training tomorrow having worked on a close-season fitness programme over the last several weeks, and Caulfield said he expects his squad to return to Bishopstown in very good shape: “We have had the guys on a seven week off-season programme, so they have all been working since the first Monday in December. While they are all coming back in together tomorrow, they have been training for the last seven weeks and our fitness levels should be high for our first day out on the pitch tomorrow.”
The City boss also confirmed that Liam Miller won’t be returning to the club for the coming season, saying: “I had a good chat with Liam; he has a few options open to him at the moment and he isn’t part of the squad going forward. I want to wish Liam all the best, he is a fantastic professional and did really well for us last season. He was a pleasure to have around the place and I just want to wish him the best of luck wherever he goes.”
