Lehane commits to the Rebel Army for the 2015 campaign

Another day, another player signed for the 2015 season at Cork City. This time it’s striker Rob Lehane’s turn to sign on the dotted line as the Rebel Army look to go one better than their second place finish this season.

The 20 year old striker made fifteen league appearances for the Leesiders this season, scoring twice and assisting three goals – the highlight undoubtedly coming in the Munster derby where his goal saw John Caulfield’s men beat Limerick in Thomond Park 1-0 in September.

Speaking to CorkCityFC.ie, the former Cork City under 19 striker is looking to build on the season just gone.

“I’m delighted to get it done early so I can start preparing for next season. We had a good year last year and we just want to kick on again next year.

“I want to get a few starts under my belt and make more of an impact next year. I want to make more appearances and hopefully score more goals as well; I want to be a proper first team player next year.”

Manager John Caulfield has always been vocal on his admiration of Lehane and after initially urging caution about unrealistic expectations, he told CorkCityFC.ie of his hopes for the young striker to make the next step.

“We have huge plans for Rob; we see massive potential in him. This year, he came on in quite a few games and was unfortunate to get injured. He got a few vital goals for us, he works really hard, he’s great around the box and we are hoping that he will have a big impact next season.”

“He’s still learning the game, he’s getting physically stronger, he’s getting up to the pace of the game and, with the experience he gained this year, I hope that he can put real pressure on to try and get into the first eleven. He has the ability, he has the attitude and I’m looking forward to seeing him next season, because he has massive potential and I hope he can deliver.”

Lehane becomes the eleventh player to commit to the Rebel Army for 2015 while other members of this year’s squad have agreed stays in principle and are expected to rubber stamp new contracts in the coming days.

Click to view the full 2014 Airtricity League Close Season Transfer List