TONY Gorman will always be remembered as a fans’ favourite at The Showgrounds and he gives us his Coleraine XI from his playing days in blue and white…

The midfielder spent two spells on the Ballycastle Road and famously helped Coleraine end their long wait to win a major trophy after Jody Tolan’s goal sealed the 2003 Irish Cup against Glentoran.

Gorman won further silverware at Linfield and also represented Portadown, Finn Harps and Crusaders to name a few throughout his career.

After some difficult decisions, he talks us through the best Coleraine team he played with after electing a 3-5-2 formation.

TONY’S COLERAINE XI

GK: Davy O’Hare

Davy was just a very good and solid goalkeeper. He was also a good lad around the changing room.

CB: Paul Gaston

What can you say about Gacky? He made it look easy and had an incredible ability of scoring goals. His appearance record for Coleraine speaks for itself.

CB: Gareth McAuley

Came in and immediately hit the ground running. You could early on how good he was and he went on to have a tremendous career. That was down to sheer hard work, the right attitude and desire.

CB: Stuart McLean

Unbelievable in the air. Stuart was really strong and powerful. He moved to Linfield and was unlucky with an injury. He formed a formidable partnership with Gacky.

RWB: Greg O’Dowd

Greg signed initially on loan and was a great fella first and foremost. He could provide great deliveries from out wide, he worked hard and scored great goals.

CM: Eamon Doherty

Eamon played a lot of his games at Coleraine at right-back when I was there before moving into the middle of the park. He’s a really good friend and I wouldn’t be forgiven if I didn’t include him.

CM: Pat McAllister

‘Packie’ was really horrible to play against but great to play alongside. I think it is sometimes lost at what a good player he was. His reputation sometimes went before him in terms of discipline but he was an excellent player. A great fella and a great character.

CM: Stephen Beatty

‘Trigger’ gave us a real balance and he was also known for his superb deliveries into the box. The biggest compliment I can pay him is that you certainly felt his presence missing when he wasn’t playing.

LWB: Gerry Flynn

Gerry was solid, reliable and possessed a wand of a left foot. Not only that he was a good guy and was part of the 2003 Irish Cup winning squad. He just edges out Stevie Campbell and Johnny McIvor here.

FW: Rory Hamill

Unbelievable ability. In truth, his talent was bigger than the Irish League. If Rory was playing now – and with the opportunities of full-time football – he would be gracing a bigger stage than the Irish League. A superb character to have in the changing room.

FW: Jody Tolan

Worked so well with Rory up front. He held the ball up well and was probably one of the most fearless centre-forwards I’ve ever seen. He will always be remembered for that goal in the 2003 Irish Cup final.

Notable mentions: Sam Shiels, Derek Cook, Stevie Campbell, Johnny McIvor, Stuart Clanachan, Ian McCoosh, Oliver McAuley, Michael Surgeon.