Ruaidhri Higgins has been around football long enough to know when something simply doesn’t fit.
Ten weeks after welcoming Conor McMenamin to Coleraine with the fanfare reserved for a marquee summer signing, the manager watched the Northern Ireland winger walk out the door to Irish Premiership rivals Glentoran. No public fallout, no drama. Just a blunt verdict shared by both men: it wasn’t meant to be.
‘Best for everyone’
McMenamin had arrived from St Mirren in June, a proven wide threat and a statement of Coleraine’s ambition as they push into full-time football and chase a first league title since 1974. By the end of the transfer window, he was gone, heading for the Oval, with midfielder Joe Thomson moving in the opposite direction to the Showgrounds.
For Higgins, speaking after being named August’s manager of the month by the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association, the logic was clear.
“Sometimes in football and just life in general, things don't go as expected or according to plan,” he said. “It's certainly not a personal issue with Conor at all.”
McMenamin had already laid out the problem. At 31, with family and personal priorities to weigh, the daily grind from Downpatrick to the north coast – roughly 75 miles, around 90 minutes each way – quickly became more than an inconvenience. It became a barrier.
Higgins didn’t argue.
He described the commute as “not sustainable” and revealed that the pair had held regular conversations in recent weeks before agreeing the move was right.
“We've come to this conclusion and I think it's best for everyone,” he said.
Coleraine lose a player of international pedigree, but they gain something they badly needed.
Thomson brings bite and balance
Injuries to Mark Coyle and Rowan McDonald had stripped Coleraine’s midfield of depth and drive. For a side with designs on a title push, that was a problem that could not be parked until January.
The answer arrived in the form of Joe Thomson, a player Higgins knows inside out from their time together at Derry City.
“Joe is so different to the players that we have. He plays with an edge and he has a goal in him,” Higgins said.
He painted the picture of a classic box-to-box midfielder: all-action, aggressive, and with the legs to cover both penalty areas.
“He's very much box-to-box and all-action, and I've worked with him before so I know what I'm getting.”
Thomson slots into a core that already includes the craft of Will Patching and the industry of Dylan Boyle. On paper, it gives Coleraine a more rounded engine room, one capable of controlling games and breaking lines in a league where the margins at the top are shrinking.
But Higgins did not stop at shoring up the middle. He went hunting for goals.
Brooks the ‘Robbie Keane mould’ gamble
Deadline day also delivered Adam Brooks from Crusaders, a move that could prove one of the most intriguing pieces of business of the window.
Brooks, a former Celtic striker, spent much of last season shunted wide at Seaview, but still showed flashes of a natural finisher. This campaign he had started centrally and immediately caught the eye, most notably with a hat-trick against Portadown in a 3-2 win.
Higgins had been watching closely.
He called the 22-year-old Scot a “young player with huge talent” and listed off the attributes like a coach who has replayed the clips more than once.
“For not the biggest lad in the world he scores good headed goals, with his right foot, left foot, he can score from distance and inside the six yard box.
“He's got good awareness and so much to his game. I think if he was six foot two he would have never played in this league because he would be somewhere else.”
Coleraine see him as an investment, a forward to polish and, potentially, to sell on.
“We see it as an investment and someone we can develop, and I've no doubt that Adam can kick on and once he establishes himself here, it wouldn't surprise me if he went on to another level in the coming years.”
Higgins remembers the moment Brooks truly grabbed his attention: a Crusaders game at Portadown last season.
“Straight away I really liked what I was seeing,” he admitted.
Brooks, he insists, is no makeshift winger, but a natural centre forward.
“I know he's a brilliant boy and he played out of position a lot last year, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a he's a top, top centre forward.
“He's very like a Robbie Keane sort of mould and that type of centre forward, and there's a lot I like about him.”
For a club aiming to close the final few points to the summit, that kind of predatory instinct could be decisive.
Chasing history in a centenary season
Coleraine finished just three points behind eventual champions Larne last season, a late surge turning them from outsiders into genuine contenders. That run, coupled with the club’s investment and move to full-time football, has shifted the mood around the Showgrounds.
They are no longer plucky challengers. They are one of the favourites to lift the Gibson Cup.
The timing adds another layer. Coleraine’s only league title came in 1974. A second would arrive as the club celebrates its centenary year.
“To me it's trying to win the second league title in the club's history, and it would be extra-special if you could do it in the centenary year,” Higgins said.
He does not pretend the pressure comes from outside. Much of it is self-imposed.
“On a daily basis, I put myself under massive pressure and that's why we are here. We want to be part of a successful, ambitious club.”
So far, the players have responded. Higgins, who describes himself as “very lucky” and “loving” life at Coleraine, has overseen an unbeaten start: three wins and a draw from their opening four games, including a point against Larne.
The clean sheets matter to him as much as the goals.
“We're obviously really happy with the start, and we're particularly happy with the three clean sheets out of four, and we're scoring goals again which is pleasing,” he said.
There was no temptation to get carried away.
“We're four games in, so we'll not get too excited, but the players have been fantastic and it's a joy to work with them and the staff on a daily basis.”
Next up is a trip to Crusaders on Saturday evening, a meeting with Brooks’ old club at 18:00 BST. A new striker to bed in, a new midfielder to drive the team on, and a major summer signing already gone.
For Higgins and Coleraine, the message is simple: no distractions, no excuses. This season is about whether a club that has waited half a century can finally turn potential into a second title.
