Place slams McGee rumours as three new boys join Athlone

Athlone Town manager Brendan Place has reacted quickly to slam rumours that striker Noel McGee left the club last week. The Town boss has also completed the signings of three new players ahead of Saturday's First Division clash against Shelbourne. Rumours gathered pace last week that Noel McGee had fallen out with his manager and departed the club. However, the 22-year-old forward was introduced as a substitute during last weekend's 1-1 draw against Finn Harps and actually scored the equaliser. McGee is Athlone's top scorer this season with six goals and Place blasted the rumours which appeared on the message board of the club's official website. "That's untrue. I think somebody is causing a bit of mischief with that one. It's complete rubbish and Noel is part of what we're trying to develop here. I think a few people have made up a story. He was left on the bench against Finn Harps because of a hamstring strain and made a very good impact after coming on. He looked sharp and was effective," Place said. Athlone, who were scheduled to play Longford Town at Lissywoollen last night (Tuesday), have also signed three new players. Among the acquisitions is former Town forward Austin Skelly, who joins the club from Leinster Senior League side Malahide Utd. Also joining the club is attacking midfielder Mark Salmon, a son of former Athlone star Joey Salmon, who won two League of Ireland titles with the Town in the early '80s. Twenty year-old Salmon was an academy player at Wolves in England and also had a spell on loan at Port Vale, before returning to Ireland earlier this year with Drogheda Utd, where he failed to make an impact. Place said: "We are just waiting for Drogheda to tie up a few things but Mark has signed. He is a neat and tidy midfield player with a good passing range. He's comfortable playing just behind the front line and hopefully things will go well for him here." Full back Niall O'Reilly, 22, has also been added to the squad. "Niall has a bit of experience at this level having played for Shelbourne in 2007. He adds to the strength in depth of the squad and he's capable of pushing for a first-team place in the coming months," said Place. Austin Skelly, 27, is best recalled around the league for a good spell with the now defunct Dublin City. Skelly's League of Ireland career was put on hold two years ago when he suffered a bad leg break while playing for Dundalk. "Austin has been down here before and has a good pedigree at this level. He has a good left foot and I see him as a striker. Despite being just 27, Austin has a fair amount of experience and he wants to give League of Ireland another go. I hope it goes well for him here," said Place. Skelly's previous stint with Athlone came under John Gill in 2006 but he then followed Gill to Oriel Park before the start of the 2007 season. Speaking ahead of Athlone's double header this week against Longford (Tuesday) and then Shelbourne (Saturday), Place said he was satisfied to earn a draw against Finn Harps last weekend. "I suppose I'm fairly satisfied with a point against an in-form Finn Harps, but the reality is we could have won the game. We had to alter the team a few times but a draw stops our little run of three league games without a point, something I felt was a bit unfair in any case. I think some of our football has been very good over recent weeks and we're cutting teams open and creating plenty of chances during games. Obviously we've lacked a killer instinct at times but we're working on that," said Place. Athlone's next league game sees them face league leaders Shelbourne at Lissywoollen on Saturday (kick-off: 7.45pm).