It fills you with confidence that they're going to win most balls. (2025)

​DANNY Mullen never doubted his former Partick Thistle teammate Kevin Holt would prove a hit in the League of Ireland.

​The 6' 1'' centre-half registered his first goal for the Candy Stripes with a bullet winning header against Cork at Turner's Cross last Friday night to ensure Derry's winning run continued.

The 32 year-old Scotsman scored four crucial goals in 29 appearances for Dundee United this season before making the switch to Foyleside last February and so it was only a matter of time before he got off the mark at his new club.

He's been a huge presence in both boxes so far and Mullen believes the physicality and imposing stature of Holt and his fellow central defenders Mark Connolly, Hayden Cann and Sam Todd has been a key part of Derry's recent winning run.

"I played with him before at Thistle and you can see from where he's been, he's always an attacking threat when we have setplays. On the flip side of things he's great defensively for us. He's good in the air and it's always nice to have that.

"We've got three, four or five big guys and that filters down the further you go up the pitch," he laughed. "It's nice to have that size and the mobility of them as well, it fills you with confidence that they're going to win most balls.

"They've got the experience as well. so we've got a solid backline now. They're the ones that defend but they'll praise the forwards too because we're working our nuts off to take the pressure off them as well so it's a real team effort at the moment," added Mullen who spent the 2022-23 season with Holt at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill.

As for Holt, he was delighted to finally get off the mark but even more so because it proved the winner and he's hoping Derry can continue their winning run in Drogheda.

“The last few years I’ve scored a few goals to be fair and it’s taken me a while to get off the mark, so I’m delighted to score but more delighted to just help the team get that win.”

It will be his first assignment at Weavers Park but as coming from the SPL, hostile grounds will be nothing new for the Dumfries man.

“I’ve seen that in a lot of away grounds, they are very similar in terms of obviously the fans get right on your back and they make it kind of hostile, the pitches are tight, but I know the boys will prepare properly, which they’ve done for all the games. You can tell that with the performances we’ve put in,” he insisted.

“Obviously, the Waterford game we under-performed and we knew that, but we bounced back with three big wins in a row. But there’s no point in doing that if we go and drop points at Drogheda on Friday.

“We really need and want to keep our form going, but we all know it’s going to be difficult at Drogheda.”

Holt has made no secret of his desire to win the league this season with Derry and he's seen positive signs over the past few weeks as the squad begins to gel together.

“I’m enjoying it. As a team we kind of had a slow start and myself being part of that, but we’ve kind of started to gel together, everyone is loving it and we’re going from strength to strength and we just want to keep that momentum going."