Conor Pepper admits that European qualification can play havoc with a club’s transfer plans but insists that Cliftonville’s squad is strong enough to compete, even if there are no new arrivals before the transfer window closes.
The Reds have lost a raft of talent since bringing the curtain down on the 2023/24 season by winning the Irish Cup and, though manager Jim Magilton has added a number of defensive reinforcements, it’s the other end of the pitch that has drawn most focus with Sam Ashford, Ronan Hale – both of whom scored in May’s historic Final victory over Linfield – and Ben Wilson having sealed cross-channel moves, while wing wizard Stephen Mallon has joined Sligo Rovers.
Ryan Curran’s return to fitness and the commencement of Ruaidhri Donnelly’s third stint at the club have gone some way towards alleviating the imbalance of numbers, but the expectation is that more new faces will follow as August draws to a close – a situation that Pepper says is par for the course, with European football adding an artificial early deadline to the recruitment process.
“It’s always hard with Europe because sometimes, whether it’s players coming back from England or whatever, you don’t usually get bodies in this early,” explains the 30-year-old.
“Even last year, me, Sam (Ashford) and Sean (Stewart) didn’t come in until the end of August, but there was no European football, so it didn’t really matter.
“I think it’s hard to get people in early, but the longer the window goes on, the longer August goes on, there’ll be a few more players looking around for something new and something different.
“Whether they’ve maybe not enjoyed how their own pre-season’s gone at their own club and they’ve maybe spoken to their manager and felt they’re not going to get enough football, you never know.
“More bodies are always going to be better for us. If they can come straight into the starting XI and make us more competitive and stronger, that’d be great, but there’s enough boys here now who’ve played enough football for us to still be competitive.”
Pepper endured a strange first season at Solitude.
Signed predominantly to feature at right wing-back, injury combined with the emergence of Shea Kearney saw his opportunities limited for the most part before he grasped his chance to snaffle a central midfield berth in the closing weeks of the campaign – and he was in virtual first-name-on-the-teamsheet territory when the Cup Final came around.
“I didn’t even do a pre-season last year with Linfield, so when I came in, I was probably a little bit behind,” recalls the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Greenock Morton man, who also enjoyed Cup success with Glentoran and the Blues before signing up at Solitude.
“I feel like I’ve got enough experience to help players anyway when I wasn’t playing, just trying to keep people going and talk some of the younger lads through what they’re doing.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to offer this team and this football club. I don’t really mind where I’m playing, as long as I can do a good enough job for the team. I’ve done okay in centre-mid, the manager obviously thinks I’ve done okay in there and kept me in the team, so long may it continue.”