Four added to Waterford 2014 Squad

Waterford United have announced four signings for the 2014 season. Gavin O'Donovan, Conor Coad, John Frost and Michael Coady have all penned contracts with The Blues for the coming season.

An injury to Michael Coady ended his 2013 season prematurely but the talented full back has now re-signed for the new season. Centre-back Gavin O’Donovan returns to the Blues but makes the step up to the first team after playing with the U19s two seasons ago.

Conor Coad also re-joins the Blues first team after being a member of the squad last season. Full-back John Frost will also be available to first team boss Tommy Griffin while also remaining on the coaching staff on the Blues U19s.

“I’m happy with how the squad is shaping up, pre-season has gone really well so far and we have some hard weeks of pre-season training behind us now,” Blues boss Tommy Griffin told Waterford-United.ie.

“Conor Coad was with us last season. He’s still young and came through our U19 team, and I’m glad he’s back on board," Griffin said. "I’m happy to have Michael Coady back again, he was injured last season but he’s working hard to get back. He’s been putting in a lot of hard work with the physio since before Christmas to get back playing.
 

“Gavin O’Donovan was with our U19s two seasons ago, he’s a tall ball-playing centre back. He went back to junior football and got some game time, and now we feel he’s ready to make the big step up to the first team. John Frost will also be involved with coaching like he has been doing, and his experience is invaluable. His experience within the dressing room will be huge and he will be available to us.
 

"With the Under-19 season coming to a close at the end of March, we're now looking very strongly at the players in the squad too, and some of the players have already played a part in our pre-season."
 

“We have some attractive pre-season matches organised, and we’ll learn a lot from them. People may ask why we always play against Premier Division teams, but we learn a lot more from playing against these teams.
 

"We learn a lot about the players, and the players themselves will learn a lot from playing against teams from a higher league. There won’t be a problem with confidence in these matches; it’s all about our performance as we get ready for the new season."