Whitestrand United manager Brian Dunleavy is hoping his outfit can go one better than last year and secure promotion from the Donegal Physiotherapy Division Two.

Whitestrand United had a good campaign last time out, finishing third in the league
but missed out on promotion following a narrow defeat
to Cappry Rovers in the
promotion/relegation play-off.

Dunleavy stated that it was disappointing not to have gone up but that’s now firmly in the rear and they’re looking forward to getting going again this weekend.

“It was disappointing not to go up but we’d a good year overall. That’s gone now so the focus is on this season.

“We’ve been back training for six weeks and it’s going well so we’d be happy enough so far.

“We’re just looking forward to this season and seeing how we get on.”

Ahead of the new campaign, Dunleavy’s panel have lost the services of Rhys Thompson to Rathmullan Celtic while Conor Heraghty will miss games due to his studies.

However, they’ve welcomed a number of players into the group such as Paddy McElwaine while youth talents Kai Corcoran and Jack Dunleavy have also been integrated into the set-up over the summer.

“We’ve lost Rhys Thompson to Rathmullan, he’s from up there anyway and we knew that would be the case. Conor Heraghty won’t be around as much due to his studies in Dublin but I’ve brought in a few as well.”

“We’ve brought in Paddy McElwaine as well as Kai Corcoran who’s an Under 16 and a prolific goalscorer.

“Jack Dunleavy has also come in and he’s another serious quality player.

“We’ve got a couple of players from Rathmullan too so I’d be happy with what we’ve got this year.”

Having narrowly missed out on promotion last season, this will undoubtedly be on Whitestrand United’s mind again ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Whitestrand boss expressed that promotion is certainly the target for the group but insists that a lot of teams will be in the same boat so they just have to focus on themselves.

“Promotion will be the aim but every team is thinking that, a lot of the teams will be strengthening this season. We’ll just focus on ourselves and go again.

“If you get a bit of momentum and you can get off to a good start, that’s always important as it can help to build confidence.”