Patterson will raise Derry’s standards: Shiels

Rory Patterson will raise the standards of his fellow Derry City team mates upon his return to the club.

That is the view of manager Kenny Shiels, who yesterday signed the Strabane man (pictured) on a one-year deal, just over a year after the Strabane man left the club for Australian club Cockburn United.

The striker (31), who scored two goals in Derry’s 2012 FAI Cup success over St. Patrick’s Athletic, ended his spell Down Under to return to FC United of Manchester, but the temptation of returning to the Brandywell proved to be too strong and the deal was completed yesterday morning.

“He adds experience and know-how and hopefully goals,” Shiels said.

“He’s only 31 o there’s plenty of life in him yet. He really love Derry City and he wants to play for them. All of our meetings were positive. We’re starting to put the squad together and we’ve lost so many players. We lost three big hitters in McEleney, Timlin and Lowry and you can’t lose that quality without replacing it. We still have more work to do. We’re hopeful of getting one more in over Christmas but we’ll see how that goes.”

Patterson was a divisive player in his last spell at the club, with his goal-scoring capabilities tempered by several run-ins with his team mates.

However Shiels believes that Patterson should be given a clean slate as he returns to the club hopeful of repeating his goal-scoring heroics from his first spell.

“We spoke about everything and we focused more on what he can bring to the table,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s fair to go over old stuff.

“It’s a new chapter for Rory at a club that he’s familiar with. He brings a different dynamic to what we have.

The team comes first for everyone. We need that togetherness and the correct chemistry in the squad.

“The dynamic off the team is vital and we meet that spirit. Rory is a good trainer and he works hard and he sets standards.

“We have to step up to the plate. Sometimes people from the blame culture don’t look at a person’s good points.”

He concluded: “I like players who set standards and place demands on themselves and I’m confident we can manage all the players at the club.”