Harkin will only leave on our terms: Kearney

Coleraine boss Oran Kearney is adamant Ruairi Harkin will only leave if a club matches their valuation of the player.
Ruairi Harkin.Ruairi Harkin.
Ruairi Harkin.

Cliftonville have been in negotiations with the Bannsiders for a number of weeks now and are very keen to land the former Derry City midfielder.

Speaking after his side’s 3-0 win over Dergview on Saturday though Kearney said the Showgrounds club would not be bullied into a deal.

“I’d love to keep Ruairi here, I want to keep him, but I think at this point he would be keen to move,” said the Bannsiders boss.

“But he’s contracted to Coleraine and has a year left on his contract and we’ll not be bullied, if he does go he’ll go for what we think he’s worth.

“The two chairmen have been in negotiations for a week or two now.

“It has been rumbling on for a while now and has permeated through four or five different stages, and it has evolved down to a straight deal now if it gets done.”

Kearney already has a targets in mind to replace Harkin if he does make the switch to Solitude.

“I would be wanting to replace like for like in there,” he said.

“I have a couple of players in mind.”

On the pitch Coleraine warmed up for next Saturday’s league opener against Portadown with a routine 3-0 win over Dergview.

The hosts wents in front early on after a mix up in the Dergview box saw their keeper palm the ball into his own net.

James McLaughlin rattled in a second just before the break, and he added another midway through the second half after great work by Jamie McGonigle.

Dergview almost pulled a goal back through veteran Ivan Sproule, who rattled the bar with a free kick.