Tony McNamee putting in the hard yards ahead of the new season

As a new season approaches, Finn Harps captain Tony McNamee is leading by example and getting up to speed.

McNamee, now 32, is the elder statesman of what is a very young side, and came on as a second half substitute in their 1-0 win on Tuesday night against Sligo Rovers, playing an important role in keeping the 1-0 lead.

The Ramelton native has been working hard on his fitness for the upcoming season, and it showed on the pitch on Tuesday night.

“I sat down with Kevin and ‘Logie’ (Eoin Logue) at the end of last season, and we pinpointed different things and how we can improve. Shane Porter is in this year, and he will be a big help with our performance culture. He has a nutritionist background, and he’s helped me a lot so far with dieting and stuff like that.

“You could be training two nights a week or five nights a week, but whenever you’re training, you might think you can eat what you want, but you can’t. I really looked into it in November and December time and I’m probably a week behind because I had a bit of a dose over Christmas, and it hit me for a few days.

“But you just don’t know what’s around the corner, so you may give it your best. If I have two years left or if I have five years left, whatever it is, it’s about doing as best as you can, and who knows what will happen. We try and progress every year, and I’ve looked into that there and I’m trying to get myself in as good a shape as I can.”

McNamee was speaking after Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Sligo Rovers in Finn Park, with a Trialist scoring the only goal of the game, while Corey Sheridan saved a penalty from Cian Kavanagh.

In tough conditions and with six trialists putting in good performances, Kevin McHugh’s men battled well to get the result and put in a good performance, which pleased the skipper.

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And with Galway United next for the side on Sunday, it'll be another stern test, but one that the side are welcoming as they prepare for their first game of the season in four weeks' time against Athlone Town.

“We started training in December, and we were working on our fitness. Then we came back in for January and it’s been a mixture of fitness and getting a shape to the squad. The squad is fairly set now.

“We dug in and got a result, which is a stepping stone to where we’re trying to get to, we kept our shape really well and created a few chances as well, but all in all, pre-season is about getting the minutes under the belt.

“We only really worked on it (our shape) on Monday night. We did a wee bit on it on Saturday but again, it’s all stepping stones, we’re not going to be perfect come the start of February, but hopefully, we can get there sooner rather than later.

“But it’s progress, if you compare it to last year’s pre-season, I’m not saying we’re miles ahead, but we’re definitely ahead of where we were at this stage last year.

“We lost a few players in the off-season, but we’ve gained a few and again, it’s part and parcel with the league, there are comings and goings at all clubs, and we hope that anyone who has come in will buy into what Kevin is trying to do with the club and make steady progress, and who knows what can happen.

“Whether it was a 1-0 win or a 1-0 defeat, there are no points on the board at the minute, but performance-wise, work rate and things like that there are more important for us, but if you’re trying to create any form of a winning culture in a club then it’s also good to be winning games.

“But who knows, if Corey dives the other way for the penalty, then it’s 1-1, but down to our shape, I don’t think they created many clear-cut chances bar the penalty and that was down to the work rate of the whole team, from front to back.”