'Any player who falls short won't be here' - Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch

Tiernan Lynch has revealed that some members of the Derry City squad will not make the start of the new season as he now turns his eye to departures ahead of the new campaign.

The City boss has had a busy week, unveiling three new players in Robbie Benson, Carl Winchester and Dom Thomas on Monday, while settling into the club’s new training premises at Owenbeg, before heading to Sligo Rovers for a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.

And while he still has his sights set on a defender, he has admitted there will be some departures, even suggesting that some players will decide their own fates in training over the next few weeks.

“I'm very conscious and careful of what I say at this stage,” he explained. “We've only really been in a week and a half, truth be told. Last week before, we never really got on the grass. In fact, we didn't get on the grass, we had a couple of indoor sessions because the weather was so bad. I think everybody deserves a chance. We're very clear, I keep saying this and repeating this, we're very clear about the journey we want to go on. Whether everybody has the capabilities of being on that journey or not, I'm not sure.

“They'll probably decide that over the next number of weeks. There's a huge amount of commitment, there's a huge amount of professionalism that's going to have to go into where we want to go, and anybody that's going to fall short won't be on that journey.”

The arrival of Benson, Winchester and Thomas takes the number of new arrivals at the club to seven, a number of which have international experience. Lynch believes each of the players can take the club to the next level due to their appetite for success.

“I think it's the draw of Derry City,” he said. “We just needed to get in front of them and talk to them about what we wanted to do, what our vision is for the football club, where we want to go as a football club. As I say, the level of professionalism that is at this football club, it's a sleeping giant and these are the types of players that can bring this out. These are the types of players, in my opinion, that will put bums and seats in the Brandywell on a Friday night, and hopefully attract a bigger travelling fan base.

“I think it's a hugely exciting time for Derry City. I don’t think it's going to be easy in any way, shape or form. There's a huge amount of work to go into all the things that we want to do, but I think so far we're in a decent place.”

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With the likes of Shane Ferguson, Liam Boyce, Gavin Whyte, Robbie Benson and Carl Winchester all bringing significant experience with them, Lynch will certainly have no shortage of options when it comes to choosing a club captain this season. But the Derry boss is not too concerned about who wears the armband when the first game comes against Shelbourne.

“I don't think captains are big things,” he stated. “I think when you step on that pitch, if you're relying on a captain, then I think you're in big trouble. I think one of the things we want to create is a really healthy culture. We have a working group now, a leadership team, and I think there's a lot of senior professionals in this team. I think you'll find that, hopefully, there's a lot of leadership qualities out there.”

Meanwhile, Lynch could be without the services of Danny Mullen for the first stage of the season, after the striker picked up a bad ankle injury during Tuesday’s win over Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds. The striker left the ground in an ankle brace ahead of a scan yesterday.