'Recovery going to plan' for Hyland as he signs for fourth year

Drogheda United’s squad for 2019 has risen to eight as Jake Hyland signed a new deal with the club.

The 23-year-old, who was club captain in 2018 for Tim Clancy’s side, signs on for what will be his fourth season with the Boynesiders.

After being made captain last season, Hyland went on to make 30 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice, against Athlone Town and Wexford.

His season ended early as he was stretchered off in the second leg of the play-off against Shelbourne with a broken leg.

Speaking to extratime.ie, Hyland said that his recovery from the injury is going to plan, with the midfielder moving to the next stage of his recovery soon.

“Recovery is going to plan at the minute, the cast is coming off next week and I will be getting a boot which is the next stage of rehab,” Hyland told extratime.ie.  

Hyland pointed to manager Tim Clancy as a reason for remaining with Drogheda, along with the fact that the Boynesiders’ are helping Hyland with his recovery.

“The main reason for signing back was after such an enjoyable year last year I was more than happy to remain under Tim who’s a really good manager and also due to the fact the club are helping me with the recovery process,” Hyland said.

Drogheda lost 3-1 on aggregate to Finn Harps in the playoffs this season but Hyland says the aim is to be in contention for promotion again next season.

“Last season was a new enough squad and Tim’s first job in management, so the plan is this year to build on and hopefully be in promotion contention,” Hyland said.

Drogheda earlier this week also announced the signings of Paul Skinner, Kevin Farragher, Luke Gallagher and Mark Doyle.

Skinner kept ten clean sheets in 33 appearances last season, as he played the first season of his second spell with the Boynesiders.

Farragher joined Drogheda midway through the 2016 season as the Boynesiders got promoted back to the Premier Division.

However, an injury hit 2017 campaign saw his game time limited. That changed this year as he was an ever-reliant figure at centre-back, making 32 appearances in all competitions.

Luke Gallagher is another entering into his fourth season with Drogheda, having originally joined from Bray Wanderers in 2016.

Last season, Gallagher showed his versatility, playing both in midfield and in defence, particularly when Drogheda played a back three.

He also had the best goalscoring season of his career to date, scoring four times in 31 appearances in all competitions, against Galway United, Athlone Town and in two separate games against Cobh Ramblers.

19-year-old Mark Doyle came through Drogheda’s youth system and first broke into the first team during their 2016 First Division campaign.

He became a more regular fixture through the 2017 season following a man of the match performance in his first start of the season in Drogheda's 2-1 win over Shamrock Rovers.

The winger went on to make 15 appearances in 2017, scoring his first senior goal in a 2-1 defeat away to Derry City.

In 2018, Doyle was a regular for Drogheda, starting every league game for the Boynesiders. He scored nine goals in all competitions, with eight of those coming in the league, the other being in a 3-2 EA Sports Cup victory over St. Mochta’s.

Drogheda’s squad now stands at eight with Paul Skinner, Kevin Farragher, Conor Kane, Luke Gallagher, Sean Brennan, Jake Hyland, Mark Doyle and Chris Lyons so far agreeing new deals.