Garry Buckley has signed a new two-year contract with Sligo Rovers, the club are delighted to announce today.
The 28-year-old is already in his second season at the club and has become a big favourite at The Showgrounds.
Now operating at centre-half, Buckley has been a mainstay in the Rovers side which finished fourth place last season and currently occupy third spot with five matches left this campaign.
He has formed a partnership with John Mahon at centre-half and they are set to be team-mates with the Bit O’ Red next year after Buckley put pen to paper this morning.
Buckley said: “There’s no other place I’d rather be than at Sligo Rovers. I have total trust in the club and management staff and I’ve signed for two years because I want to win things. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.
“I said it when I first signed that I saw the potential here. I feel we’ve progressed. I know myself that you build teams over time. I’ve won trophies before and I know it’s a building process.
“From living in Sligo I can see the people feel hungry for it. I can only imagine what would happen here if we brought that success. Qualifying for Europe last year was a big deal to everyone and we’re in a place now that we can do that again and improve on our league position.
“When I signed here I said I needed a fresh start. It went better than I thought if I’m totally honest. I’m really attached to the area and very happy off the pitch. On the pitch I really enjoy playing in this team and the building I’m talking about is there to see. Taking it to the next level is the target and over the next five games we can improve on last season and get back to Europe. It’s the chance we want to take.”
Reflecting on the second part of the season being more difficult and how Rovers can change it, he added: “There’s no doubt it’s been tough. We have to keep working hard. You can’t throw the toys out of the pram and give up. I think we were down players at important times. We’re still in there. At the start of the season we’d have taken this position without doubt. You have to live in the moment and we’re here now and we should all remember that. We’ve got some big games coming up and we know it’s in our hands so we’ll give it our all.”
Buckley’s partnership with John Mahon has received considerable praise this season.
The Cork man admits the relationship is one of the aspects he appreciates in being at the club.
“We complement each other so well. I think the best of John’s game is the my weaker parts and the best of mine is John’s weaker parts and together it’s been great. The entire back four has been the same and Ed has been superb as well. I’m hoping it will continue and I’m really looking forward to playing with the lads in the future.”
Liam Buckley said: “Garry is a proper footballer. He played a lot of career in midfield and I think he has excelled at centre-half.
“He’s a great leader and for me he’s undoubtedly one of the best in the league as a defender and a player.
“It is important you’re happy where you are in terms of where you play football and I think Garry is very settled here.
“Most of all we want players in the dressing-room who can manage the expectation here and it’s an expectation of winning. He’s a real winner and a top player and he will be a major asset in the years to come.”