With Luke O’Neill’s loan deal set to expire this weekend, Iron assistant manager Ned Kelly has revealed that the club could look to bring a new body in to replace the fullback.
Saturday’s postponed match against MK Dons was due to be the last match of O’Neill’s 93 day spell but with no game until the trip to Crawley on 22nd November, the Burnley loanee could have played his last game in claret and blue.Kelly was full of praise for the defender and the impact he’s had during the time the pair have worked together.
He told The Iron Player: “Luke’s loan was due to run out after our game on Saturday but because there’s no Saturday match now his spell is technically over.
“He’s still with us at the moment though and he’s been a good signing for the club.
“He’s a good lad and we like him but he’ll be going back at the end of this week.”
O’Neill has played in the vast majority of United’s fixtures since arriving in North Lincolnshire and has provided vital cover for Eddie Nolan who has spent chunks of the season on the sidelines through injury.
Kelly stated that the management team are always looking for potential new additions to the squad and when asked whether bringing a player in to fill the void vacated by O’Neill was a possibility, he said: “Absolutely.
“We’re always looking. We’re actively looking all the time, speaking to lots of different people and lots of contacts that we’ve all got to try and enhance the squad.
“We want to try and improve the squad and that’ll always carry on.”
Nolan made his return to first team action during the FA Cup first round tie at Forest Green and Kelly was pleased with how the Irishman coped in what was his first 90 minutes for more than two months.
He added: “Eddie did well on Sunday.
“It was his first game back for a good while and I thought he handled the fitness part of the match very well.
“He’ll be feeling better after the game time as well.”
See much more from Ned Kelly and Miguel Llera on The Iron Player later this week.