Bradley believes Larne can be serious promotion contenders

The 22-year-old Belfast-based retail manager has only made one appearance for the Reds, but has settled in well and looks to be a shrewd acquisition.

“It will be interesting facing DC as they have strengthened during the transfer window bringing in some experienced players so it will be tough,” he said.

“I was happy at DC and was going to give it time to see how things turned out. The manager at DC was struggling to get players in as he virtually no budget to work with. They had a lot of young players in the side so the new players will add the experience they needed.

“Davy McAlinden had spoken to me at the start of the season but, as I say, I wanted to see how things worked out. He contacted me again in January so at that stage I was happy to make the move.

“I have settled in well as they are a good bunch of lads here. The training is good as there is a lot of ball work.”

Even though he has only been at the club for a few weeks, Bradley believes Larne can be a serious promotion contenders.

“I thought we did OK against Ards who are one of the top sides even though the result went against us. There is still a long way to go and the teams above us have all to play each other so we are not out of it yet.”

Larne go into Saturday’s match with just one defeat in their last five league outings.

They last met DC in August when Darren Stuart, who has since moved to Inver Park, scored twice for Celtic in a 2-1 win.