Ciaron Harkin on duty for both Derry City and Institute

It has certainly been a busy time of late for Ciaron Harkin, who is pulling double duty, representing both Derry City and Institute.

The 29-year-old made his first start for his home town club in three years last week against Waterford, before appearing for ‘Stute as a member of Kevin Deery’s backroom staff against Ballinamallard less than 24 hours later.

Harkin’s last start for the Candystripes came when he suffered a major ACL injury back in February 2022 when City narrowly defeated Shamrock Rovers, at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

Since that evening the talented midfielder has had to recover from a second ACL injury, which he picked up during a training session in September 2022, so Friday night’s start against Keith Long’s side was a big moment for him.

“It was good to get back into the starting team for the first time in over three years,” he confirmed. “But it just wasn’t the result that I was hoping for.

“The first half wasn’t acceptable and giving those two goals away we just didn’t defend good enough, myself included and we gave the rest of the team a mountain to climb.

“Getting my first start came sooner than I thought, obviously whenever I came back for pre-season I thought I had a decent pre-season, but there’s a lot of good players in our changing room and I knew I would have to wait my time, but as I said getting my first start has come sooner than I thought.

“I now need to just keep trying every day at training to get fitter and better and hopefully I can be an option for the team.

“Look it was a tough few years, but I worked hard and obviously over the last year I’ve been playing but it doesn’t make it any easier, as it was still a struggle for me but I’ve got to where I’ve wanted to be and I now only want to get stronger and fitter and hopefully more appearances to come.”

Harkin, who to his credit has always made tough decisions and shows a real fighting spirit throughout his career, slotted into right-back against the Munster men, a position he doesn’t play regularly.

“I’m happy enough to play anywhere where needed,” he stated.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to put on better performances if it ever happens again if I have to play there and more importantly hopefully we obviously can get the three points, but I’m just happy to play.

“As I said I’ll just keep working hard at training and in games and we’ll see where that takes me.

Ciaron Harkin made his first start for Derry City in three years against Waterford last week. (Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile)

“Before the injuries I was used to playing every week but obviously the players that are at Derry now, may mean I may not start as much as I would like, but I just have to keep working hard and be an option whenever it comes to a match day and hopefully I can perform whenever I’m picked.”

Harkin believes that Tiernan Lynch’s appointment means it’s a fresh start for everyone at the club and he has really enjoyed the new regime’s approach.

“I was at Coleraine on-loan when Tiernan was appointed and I was really looking forward to getting back in for pre-season,” he stated.

“It has been intense but I’ve enjoyed it and he’s driven up all the standards throughout the squad and we’re ready to go, so hopefully we can gel sooner rather than later.

“Throughout my career I haven’t really dealt with this intensity before, but I’m excited I’ve enjoyed it so far.

“Personally, I’m getting fitter and better every day, so hopefully I can continue on that road. We’ve a big squad and everyone needs to be ready when they’re called upon.”

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The addition of Harkin to his backroom has been a huge boost for Deery, who agrees that his enthusiasm can only make him a great addition.

“Since Mo (Mahon) left and Niall Grace tried to come back playing and found it a wee bit difficult because of the long-term absence he had, we’ve just been running with a manager and an assistant manager,” he explained.

“I’ve been wracking my brain and I’ve been thinking about Jackie for a while. He’s a brilliant and infectious person and I spoke to Derry who were so complimentary in doing it. They know how determined he is to go on and coach in football after he’s finished playing so we’re delighted to have him in. We’ve won two games since he’s come in. He’s brilliant around the boys and he can come back to us with anything the players need or want and vice-versa and we can help them along the way and he's a good mediation between us both.”