Coleraine transfer market now 'hundreds of thousands' in size after Irish League club's full-time fast track

​The club held separate media and fan briefings on Tuesday to mark 100 days into the north-coast outfit being owned by Bannsiders Holdings, the latter led by London-based businessmen Patrick Mitchell and Ranald McGregor-Smith.

The pair bought the club from the fans’ group Friends of Coleraine in February this year and there has been a whirlwind change over the last few months as they embark on a full-time model for the new season.

Dean Shiels has been appointed as head coach to replace Oran Kearney, who will now take on the job as sporting director.

Coleraine owners Ranald McGregor-Smith (left) and Patrick Mitchell. (Photo by David Cavan/Coleraine FC)

A total of 15 players have departed The Showgrounds – with Cameron Stewart, Kyle McClelland and Kirk McLaughlin all arriving on a full-time basis.

"If we go right the way back to Friends, we talked about three options; stay as you were which we felt was going backwards, or secondly, a hybrid option but what we probably found within a budget is that players either want to be part-time or full-time,” Magee said. "We originally said we would try and do full-time football over a 18-month period, we in theory started with the players we signed in January, but I don't think we were ever going to be in that hybrid model.

"Having a guy training an extra few hours a week and then going on a building site to work doesn't really add up within finances in the Irish League.

"It's difficult because there's a small pool of players within the Irish League and they ultimately have the power and we were part of the problem as we were paying those wages.

"We are now opened up to a market where it's not 100 players - it's hundreds of thousands of players. It's been a quicker jump but where we thought we would be.”

Mr Mitchell said the ownership have no regrets at moving into full-time football quicker than expected.

He added: "We keep a close eye on things and we are delighted with the progress. It has happened quicker than we anticipated but if it was possible then why not get it done.

"Catch the players, catch the mood. Get them all together from day one."