 His stay in the Irish League was short-lived however, and after just six games for the club, he picked up an injury in the quarter-final of the North-West Cup against Moyola Park which hastened his return to Derry City.He fought his way back into the team under Gavin Dykes and Peter Hutton but did not appear regularly during the reign of Stephen Kenny due to stiff competition in defence.Seen to be surplus to demands, he was released on 14 December 2006 after the appointment of Pat Fenlon as manager.