'We are a new team and it’s going to take time' - Shiels

Dean Shiels said his "new" side "deserved a point" after their 1-1 draw with Dungannon Swifts in the opening game of the season.

A superb strike from Kealan Dillon gave the home side the lead before Matthew Shevlin found a leveller in the final ten minutes.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved our point. Looking over the whole picture of the game I thought we were really clear cut," Shields told BBC Sport NI.

“I thought they scored against the run of play and then we had to get in at half-time. The start of the second half we looked lethargic, slow and sluggish and then we found an extra gear.

“I think we showed patience, we didn’t panic, we kept playing and playing and we knew spaces would open up."

Coleraine are the latest club to adopt the full-time model with former Dungannon manager Shiels taking up the head coach position when Oran Kearney moved to the role of sporting director.

"We knew with the players we had at the top end of the pitch that opportunities would come, and we are delighted with [Matthew] Shevlin. That’s him up and running now and hopefully he can use that as a springboard going forward.

“We expect loads of goals from him and the attacking players so once we get into the box if we are a bit cleaner with the final pass, cross and in the last third we will score loads of goals.

“We are a new team and it’s going to take time to gel and time to click but we have shown really good signs today that moving forward we can really progress."