Ryan O'Reilly 'looking forward' to playing for Cliftonville

Ryan O'Reilly says he is really "Looking forward" to playing for Cliftonville after completing his move from Ballinamallard United. 

The 25 year old former Stoke City defender trained with the Reds for the very first time on Saturday morning. 

However it will be the new season before the Reds can catch a glimpse of their new man as he is ineligible for Mondays Irish Cup Semi-final against Glentoran. 

Speaking to the Reds website O'Reilly said "It’s been a frustrating time for everybody in football over the last few months but it’s good to see things starting to settle down and I’m very pleased to have signed for such a big Club". 

The Cavan native joined the Mallards in 2018 and made over 70 appearances for Harry McConkey's side and was part of their Irish Cup final squad. 

He has previously played with Ryan Curran and Richard Brush at the Ducks and will link up with the duo at Solitude. 

The new Cliftonville number 5 went on to add “When Paddy (McLaughlin) and a club like Cliftonville comes in for you, you don’t need it to be sold to you – I already know who Cliftonville are and what they’re about and I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.”

“It’s great to have that connection with Ryan Curran and Brushy, who I played with at Ballinamallard before they came to Cliftonville,” 

“Alongside Chris Curran, players who have moved between the Clubs have done very well and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps.”

O'Reilly made 28 appearances in 2019/20 for the Mallards scoring two goals as they finished second in the Championship behind Portadown on a points-per-game average.