Carland is a window-shopping bargain for Larne boss Kinkaid

“They say that life can be frustrating for a football manager and I can certainly confirm that it is, especially when you’re trying everything you can to strengthen your squad before the deadline,” explained Kincaid, with Carland’s return the only bit of good news last week for the Inver boss.

“I haven’t the faintest idea how many players I had enquired about since taking the job during the summer, but it runs into quite a few dozen at least.

“I made lots of enquiries as the window closure approached, but they were all to no avail. Among those I had asked about were Stephen Doyle and Kevin Lynch of Donegal Celtic, Kris Kingsberry of Ards and Glen Hand of Dunmurry Rec. But nothing developed, unfortunately.

“I am delighted that Liam is back and it’s interesting how that came about because a couple of the veteran supporters had mentioned that they understood Liam didn’t actually have a contract with DC, which alerted me to the possibility of him coming back.

“When he had indicated that he was leaving Larne, I had talks with him in the hope that he might have a change of heart because I was aware that he had enjoyed playing at Inver Park. But he felt that it was time to try something different and I let him know the door would always be open. As it turned out, he did have a contract but was playing with the DC reserves and, since he had gone to Suffolk Road to get the chance to play in the Premier League, it appears that he wasn’t fitting in with the plans of manager Stevie Small.

“So I had a chat with Liam and he decided to come back and we’re more than happy to have him, especially as he was always one of favourites with the Larne supporters.

“I would like to have signed a couple more players, but that may have to wait now until January, although there are ways to bring in players who are not under contract, albeit that being a little bit complicated because the rules keep changing,” explained Kincaid.