WATCH: Newry City 'is a fantastic football club... One of the biggest in Northern Ireland' says new manager Stuart King

It has been a summer full of change for City, as they look to regroup and rebuild following back-to-back relegations in the two previous seasons.

There has been change at the top, with previous manager Darren Mullen moving into a boardroom role as Chairperson, with former Carrick Rangers boss Stuart King taking the reins for the season ahead.

Having done plenty of off-field work in the two months since he got the job, he’s glad that the on-field action isn’t too far away, and with the new season right around the corner, we spoke to King about what lies ahead.​

“It has been non-stop to be honest with you,” he said.

“I've had a few holidays, but yeah, we've had plenty of changes, plenty of players coming in and now we're looking forward to getting on the pitch.”

“I think everybody at the club just wants to do well. You just want to win games, and all I want to do is put smiles on people's faces again.

“We want to get the crowd back, get them back on side again, make people happy coming to watch football and hopefully to have a successful season.”

‘It’s a total rebuild’

It has been a turbulent period with the club over the last 24 months, as they won just 11 times in their last 72 league games, and cycled through three different managers during that period.

It was clear for all to see that change was needed come the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, and the hope amongst the supporters is that King can turn a new corner and bring positivity back to the club.

When the back-to-back relegations were put to him, he was keen to stress that he, and the club are looking to the future.

“That's in the past now. It's a whole new project. It's a fresh start,” he said.

“It's a total rebuild. I've brought in plenty of players. It's up to me to make sure they do all they can now to get results.

“That's what's so important. We've got plenty of competitions to try and win, but the most important thing is to try and get out of this league.

“There are plenty of cup competitions. There are not many league games before Christmas. If we want to be successful, we've got to win those cup games.

“It's a whole new team, a whole new squad, a whole new background staff and hopefully we can all gel.”

King wants winners

As King, who managed Premiership side Carrick Rangers between 2021 and 2024, said, it has been a rebuild at City.

They’ve brought in Matthew Rendina, Declan Carville and Andrew Martin from Banbridge Town, Jason Craughwell and Scott McCullough from Annagh United, Cormac McNally from Mindwell, Jordan King from Dollingstown, Lee Newell from Ards, Jack Chambers from Rathfriland Rangers and Thomas Lockhart has returned to the club.

King has brought in a new goalkeeper, new defenders, centre midfielders, wingers and forwards, but when asked what characteristics he looks for when bringing in a new signing, he boiled it down to one word.

“Winners. That's all I want. I would do anything to win a game of football.

“A lot of them are proven players. I will give young boys opportunities, but they have to step up straight away and show the senior lads that they are at same standards as them, because it's all about setting standards now.

“We're a big, big club in the third division in Northern Ireland now and it's up to us to get ourselves out of it.

“Thankfully we've been able to recruit quite well. Don't get me wrong, it's not finished yet. Hopefully there is more to come. It's just about trying to get them to gel and hopefully we can get enough results to get us out of this league.

“I hope they gel; they have to gel. It's up to us in pre-season to make sure we find a winning mentality and get a winning side and hopefully we can get the best out of the players.”

Newry City are ‘one of the biggest clubs in Northern Ireland’

In order to bring in the players he wanted, King needed backing from the board, which he received.

Having spent many years managing and playing in the top flight, as well as spells in England and Scotland, he’s more than qualified to speak on the standards of the club, and he described their facilities as ‘unbelievable’.

“It's a fantastic football club,” he said.

“It's a proper, proper football club. One of the biggest clubs in Northern Ireland. The facilities are unbelievable and I'm grateful to have this job.”

As for his tangible objectives for the season ahead, he wouldn’t be drawn into making any predictions of where his side will finish in the table.

However, as the ultimate goal is the same as any football club - to win more often than not.

“Just to be successful. Make people happy. Win plenty of games of football.

“I'm not going to say anything else apart from that.”