Article: published on 6 August 2024

Ballymena United preserved their Premiership status by the skin of their teeth when they scored twice in the closing 15 minutes of the second leg of their relegation/promotion play-off to beat Championship side Institute 2-1 on aggregate.

Obviously determined to avoid another battle to beat the drop, the Sky Blues have recruited impressively in terms of experience, quality and quantity during the summer.

Eye-catching additions to the squad include ex-Crusaders attacking midfielder Ben Kennedy, former Larne and Glentoran player John Herron and a quartet of arrivals from derby rivals Coleraine in the form of Aaron Jarvis, Jack O'Mahony, Stephen O'Donnell and Josh Carson.

Transfers In: Aaron Jarvis, Ben Kennedy, Caolan Loughran, Daniel Lafferty, Jack O'Mahony, Joe Moore, John Herron, Josh Carson, Stephen O'Donnell.

Transfers Out: Dylan Boyle, Fraser Taylor [end of loan], Scot Whiteside, Evan Tweed, Steven McCullough, Daithi McCallion [end of loan].

Joel Taggart's Take: A disastrous start and a lack of goals meant a close call for United last season. They lost 10 of their opening 12 league games and managed just one home win in the league before Christmas.

An inability to score was the obvious Achilles heel but the arrival of Ben Kennedy should help. He scored almost half as many league goals last season as the whole Ballymena United squad combined.

Opening fixtures: 10/8 - Linfield (h); 16/8 - Coleraine (a) - live on BBC Sport NI; 21/8 - Crusaders (h); 24/8 - Dungannon Swifts (a)