Johnson Looking To Extend Sticky Spell

Gettit! Sticky, Toffee, Everton = Shane Duffy and John Lundstram.

In quotes carried by the Herald.ie, manager Gary Johnson has confirmed that negotiations have already started with Everton over possibly extending the loan spells of both players given the impact they have already had since joining us.

Duffy extended his last spell with us at the beginning of the month and has now made 11 starting appearances since joining us, and the current loan spell will see us through until January so you expect Johnson is referencing a deal whereby we keep him for the remainder of the season.

Lundstram joined us late last month at the closure of the emergency loan window, and as emergency loan go we can extend his deal twice up to a maximum of 93 days, so whether discussions in his direction are for the season or simply a second month we will have to wait and see. However since joining us, he has made three starts and scored one goal.

‘If we can keep them both, that’s ideally what we will do. We hope we have created a good enough atmosphere with the lads and with Everton, so that they will stay.’

It’ll be a good boost for the club, especially given our more recent form if we can secure them for a longer spell as consistency in team selection will certainly aide our chances of pulling away from the drop zone and pulling off what most didn’t expect to happen – survival.