Irish League Football

Image source, Linfield FC

Linfield captain Jamie Mulgrew has signed a one-year contract extension with the Irish Premiership club.

The 39-year-old has made 822 appearances for the Blues since he joined in 2005 and has lifted the Gibson Cup 11 times so far.

David Healy's side were hoping to defend their Irish Premiership title this season but finished fourth, 17 points off champions Larne.

"I'm delighted to continue on playing here," Mulgrew said.

"I've been here a long time and I know what is expected and what is required.

"I wanted to see where I was at. I needed to make sure I'm still capable of what is required. We all know what is required to play at this club. I've been working hard behind the scenes to make sure I'm still in a place where I can contribute."

Manager Healy added that it has been "a real privilege to work with and manage" Mulgrew and believes there is much more to come from the midfielder.

"Jamie is an outstanding professional and the standards he sets both on and off the pitch are invaluable, qualities you simply can't buy," Healy continued.

"Throughout the season, Jamie, Willie and I had open and honest discussions about his future, and he's proven he still has the ability to compete and make a strong contribution at this level.

"We're delighted to have him with us for another season as he continues to add to an already remarkable career at Linfield."

Image source, Inpho

Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney has announced the departure of eight players from the club with the possibility of that number rising to 12.

Defenders Stephen O'Donnell and former Northern Ireland international Daniel Lafferty, midfielders Aaron Jarvis and ex-Scotland international Dylan McGeouch, plus goalkeeper Brad Wade have not been offered renewed terms and will leave the club.

Alex Gawne, Caolan Loughran and Shea McAuley - who were out on loan this season - will also leave at the end of their contracts, while Dean Ebbe, Ali Gould, Ryan McNickle and Jack O'Reilly have been made available for transfer.

Kearney took over at the Ballymena Showgrounds in December following the departure of Jim Ervin and guided the club to a ninth-place finish in this season's Irish Premiership.

The departures represent the first phase of his summer rebuild at the club.

Watch highlights as Crusaders come from behind to beat Annagh United 3-2 in the first leg of the promotion/relegation play-off at the BMG Arena.

Read the report from the game here: Crues fight back to beat Annagh in play-off first leg

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glenavon have announced that manager Michael O'Connor has signed a two-year contract extension with the club.

O'Connor replaced Paddy McLaughlin as Lurgan Blues boss in November 2025 when the side were 10 points adrift at the bottom of the Irish Premiership.

Under O'Connor, they managed to leapfrog Crusaders and move out of the automatic relegation spot in March but were relegated following their post-split defeat by the Crues.

O'Connor's attentions will now turn to next season's Championship as the side compete in the second tier for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Assistant managers Andy Doyle and Mark Ferguson have also agreed terms to stay at the club.

"Michael did a tremendous job under trying circumstances," said club director Cathal Morrison.

"There's not a board member, a player, a volunteer, or a fan that doesn't want to see what he can do with a squad of his own making, and without having to give the rest of the league an 11-game head start.

"To his genuine credit, Michael wanted to come back and finish what he started, and his staff hold the same attitude, so we go again next season."

Image source, Inpho

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell said his side are prepared to face a "big, physical and direct" Annagh United in Tuesday's promotion/relegation play-off first leg at the BMG Arena (19:45 BST).

The Crues come into the play-off in good form and are unbeaten in their past four league matches.

As for Annagh, they are without a win in six games and finished nine points behind Championship winners Limavady United.

The sides will meet again on Friday, 1 May for the second leg of the play-off to decide who will compete in the Irish Premiership and who will play in the Championship next campaign.

"I have done a lot of homework the last two weeks and I have loads of information on them and watched a lot of their games," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"They are a big, physical and direct side and they play really well. It is going to be a tough place to go, and we can't take anything for granted because they will punish you.

"They have talented players who will punish you if given the chance, so we have to be at our very best."

Annagh are no strangers to the play-off having been defeated by Carrick Rangers 5-2 on aggregate last season.

However, after a challenging campaign, the Crues have impressed post-split in the Irish Premiership and avoided the automatic relegation spot by losing just one of their final five fixtures.

Caddell praised his side's performances over the last number of weeks and believes that momentum will help them retain their Premiership status.

"Confidence is everything in football and when you go through that losing cycle every week, you create bad habits," he continued.

"I think we were sparked by that late equaliser against Bangor, which shot a bit of belief and feel good into them.

"Credit to them, they have kicked on massively from it."

You can follow live text commentary with in-play clips of the first-leg on the BBC Sport NI website.