Portadown have agreed a two-year permanent contract with manager Paul Doolin.

The 59-year-old joined the club on an interim basis after the Ports parted ways with Matthew Tipton in January, and managed to the club in the Danske Bank Premiership following a play-off victory over Annagh United earlier this month.

The Dubliner is, of course, a former Portadown player and was part of the double winning squad in 1990/91 before returning for a second spell with the club during the 1994/95 campaign.

Doolin first turned to management as a player-manager with UCD before making the switch to Drogheda United whom he managed to the league title, FAI Cup and back-to-back Setanta Cup successes.

Additionally, he managed Cork City as well as the Republic of Ireland U19s, guiding them to a European Championship semi-final in 2011. Before arriving at Shamrock he had most recently managed Athlone Town for a short time at the end of the recently finished 2021 season.

Speaking to the official club website, Doolin said: "I’m delighted to be asked to stay as Portadown Head Coach for two more years and am looking forward to helping the club move forward with the rest of the staff.

"It was great for the Club and all the supporters, who are the fabric of any club, that we stayed in the Premiership but we now want to push up the table instead of fighting a relegation battle."