Finn Harps have always had a close affinity with Tyrone – and Caolan McAleer wants to become the club’s latest star from the O’Neill County.
The likes of Jonathan Speak and Gregory Kearney have already earned their places in the folklore of Harps, who boast a big following in Tyrone.
McAleer, a 23-year-old Omagh native, signed for Harps recently after a brief career in Scotland included stints at Partick Thistle, Airdrieonians, East Fife and Greenock Morton
McAleer impressed on his competitive debut on Friday night – and is at Finn Park for the long haul.
“I’ve got in and I know what I want to do myself,” he says.
“We work hard in training – that’s what it’s all about. We’re all in this together.
“Every game is going to be tough. We know what we have to do. We just have to keep battling away.”
Harps face Bray Wanderers at The Carlisle Grounds on Friday night and look up against it with the Seagulls having won away at St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night.
McAleer, one of a handful of new players given a debut by Ollie Horgan on Friday night, was happy with how Harps coped against FAI Cup winners Cork, although the Rebels’ goal clearly bugged them.
McAleer said: “The goal, we’re annoyed about it. It was a sloppy goal. We should have held out. That cost us the points.
“We dug deep and had a couple of chances. Maybe we could have grabbed something from the game.
“It was up there with one of the worst nights I’ve played on. It was just a battle.
“I haven’t seen much of Cork, but they’re a fine side. They’re decent. But we didn’t look out of place. We played some good football and we caused them problems.”
McAleer was lively and was one of Harps’ better performers on a rotten Ballybofey night..
He did draw a strong save from Mark McNulty, the Cork City goalkeeper, in the second half.
McAleer said: “I did alright. I had a couple of chances, but I made a couple of mistakes. I’m just happy to get 90 minutes. I picked the ball up on the right side, broke through. I had good power behind it, but it was down his throat.”
