Super sub Arthur is up for the challenge in Steel and Sons Cup

A lot of water has yet to flow under the bridge before he and Carrick can even begin to think about a festive cracker at his old Seaview stomping ground, but the famous old trophy is one the Rangers super sub would love to get his hands on.

The diminutive centre-forward has enjoyed a long and varied Irish League career but has yet to play in a Steel final and he would love to do just that with the Taylor’s Avenue outfit.

The first hurdle to be jumped comes on Saturday with a trip into the unknown at Amateur League outfit Newcastle.

Rangers may be among the favourites to push for promotion to the top-flight, but the experienced frontman says Carrick will approach this weekend’s match as they would any other.

“It’s kind of like a no-win situation for us. Personally, I don’t know too much about them but we’ll not be taking them lightly. We will prepare properly ... the likes of Harmo (Aaron Harmon) got injured on Saturday, so we will have to dig into the squad. Yes, the league is a priority but the Steel and Sons is a great cup to be doing well in,” he said.

“I go to the final most years. Obviously [over] the last couple of years I haven’t been there because of my kids, but I wouldn’t mind taking them out for the day this year. It would be a nice wee surprise and they would love it.

“I haven’t won too many cups over the years with my teams. The last 10 years with PSNI we were looking for survival basically and eventually last year they got promoted. My job’s at Carrick here and, obviously we didn’t win the league last year and the Steel and Sons is the next big thing and we’ve a good shot at it.”

Arthur did what he does best for Carrick at the weekend when he came off the bench to net a late goal in their 2-0 win over Donegal Celtic.

“It was a good start for us,” he added. “Personally, I’m delighted to come on for a few minutes and stick one in the back of the net. It’s what the boss is wanting me to do so, as far as I’m concerned, I did my job and the rest of the boys did theirs. It was a good result all round and a decent performance.”