'It's not a great day for people in the north west'

Coleraine manager Ruadhri Higgins has expressed his deep dissatisfaction that clubs in the north west have failed to progress to the next stage of the Northern Ireland Football Fund Performance Programme.   

Coleraine and Derry City were hoping to share in £36.2m set aside by the NI Executive for stadia funding but both were omitted when Communities Minister Gordon Lyons revealed the winners - and losers - on Thursday morning.

However, it was the plight of another club - Institute FC - that the Bannsiders' boss highlighted to support his belief that the region has been overlooked.

"Geographically, for me, the north west has been shafted again and I think it's becoming a real common theme," he said at his regular Thursday afternoon press conference.

"You might say it's sour grapes because of my connection to Coleraine Football Club and to Derry City Football Club but I'm not going to talk about either, I'll talk about Institute.

"If there's one club that needed support it's them. It's an absolute disgrace. It's a brilliant football club run by brilliant people and they lost their ground through no fault of their own.

"They've been given absolutely no backing, which surprises me in one sense, but then when you look geographically where they're based it doesn't surprise me at all.

"I read people saying it's a great day for football in Northern Ireland and all that. Yes, it's a great day for some clubs, but it's an absolutely shocking day for others," he added.

Higgins admitted there was disappointment and frustration around the Showgrounds after it became clear that the club's application had proved unsuccessful.

"I think we could be doing with a bit help as well," he offered.

"In my opinion it's a part of the country, and a lot of people will back me up on this, that appears to get neglected.

"There are so many people working tirelessly around the club and so many good things happening here but, again, it's a setback, it's just very frustrating.

"I would like to think that I stand up for what's right and what's wrong and I just think this is wrong.

"Geographically, for the majority of clubs, it's been a good day - and fair play to them - but it's not a great day for people in the north west," he concluded.