John Russell and Michael Leahy re-sign with Sligo

Sligo Rovers last Saturday morning, announced that two more of the 2016 squad have signed on for the new season.

Defender Michael Leahy and midfielder John Russell have both penned one year deals to stay at the Bit O'Red. The signing of Russell is a big boost for manager Dave Robertson as he is one of Rovers’ most experienced midfielders, having played with the club between 2010 and 2011 and again since 2014.

Russell so far has made 152 appearances and scored 17 goals for the Bit O'Red with the 2016 season being his best one to date, where he made 29 appearances and scored in a 3-2 win over Shamrock Rovers.

Meanwhile Leahy will now spend a conservative second season at the Showgrounds following his signing at the start 2016 season. 

Leahy joined the Bit O'Red from UCD and also spent one season playing with Limerick back in 2014. Like Russell, Leahy has plenty of League of Ireland experience having made 177 appearances to date. 

Last season he was a regular feature in Dave Robertson’s team having made 29 appearances. 

Speaking to the club’s official website about the additions of both Russell and Leahy, manager Dave Robertson said "I am really happy with these two signings that we have made. Both are players that played a key role for us in the 2016 season. And both are two that I expect to have a big part to play in what will be a big season for us in 2017.”

"John Russell made his most appearances in a season since 2011 this past season and Robertson credits that to working with Russell on managing his workload.

“Managing John’s workload is very important to make sure that he is available for us when he is needed. We want to make sure that he is available for us in key games. You can pick out certain games from last year where he put in really important displays. One in particular I can think of was against Dundalk at Oriel Park where he put in a huge workload for us.

“John is one that has Sligo in his blood, he really loves this club. He does everything he can to help bring success here.”

Speaking about Leahy, Robertson said; “He was one of our most consistent players right throughout the year. He was a good 7/10 every week. He is a solid defender who can also play as well. He is also good in the air so he is a versatile centre-half. He showed his value and his worth to the squad during last season so it is a real pleasure to have him signed again"

“Mick epitomises everything that we want to have here, he is not just a great player but also a great person and professional to have around the club.”

Robertson is also working hard on adding fresh faces to the Showgrounds squad and progress is being made, which should be seen in the coming weeks and months:

“There is a lot of working going on getting a good squad together for next year. There is four players that we have lined up and hope to sign in early December. We are really pleased with what we have done so far. Then we will look for another three or four more when the January transfer window opens.”

The signings of Russell and Leahy bring the number of players already signed by Robertson up to 12. Already signed up for 2017 are Craig Roddan, Micheal Schlingermann, Kieran Sadlier, Gary Boylan, Daniel Kearns, Raff Cretaro, Regan Donelon, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Mikey Place and Gary Armstrong.