Things have been eerily quiet on the North West transfer front this winter so far with clubs playing their cards very close to their chest on the run-up to Christmas. This time last year Coleraine had all their business done and with Ulster and North West titles to defend in 2014 the Bannsiders are hard at work to ensure that they are prepared for the challenge.
A spokesman for the champions suggested that the nucleus of the side was already in place but that one or two other loose ends still needed to be tied up over the coming weeks. Confirming that Roy Silva wouldn't be returning to the club in 2014, he added that they had enough options within their own set-up and there would be no need to go recruiting.
"While Roy won't be coming back next summer it is unlikely at this point that we will look to bring in an overseas replacement. We already have agreements with Niall McDonnell and David and Gordon Cooke (Gordon takes over as captain from his brother incidentally) and we're expecting Jarred Barnes to return in the new year"
"On top of that, Jonathan Ring, who played for us against Strabane last year is now resident here and we hope to have him on board as well. At the moment I'm not sure if all of last year's squad will be available again next summer, however Rory Knox, Jonathan Martin and one or two others are pushing for first team places so we're fairly happy with where we are".
Much of last winter's column space was devoted to Dekker Curry and once again the former Limavady skipper is likely to command plenty of attention. Curry will no doubt have his suitors however with Andrew Riddles likely to remain at the Bleachgreen after a dominant summer, Ardmore will be many people's favourites to land the potent left hander.
Elsewhere things have been quiet too at Beechgrove however it is thought that one or two of the current crop of players are on the radar at CIYMS. The Belfast side have hardly been shy of coming over the Glenshane in the past couple of seasons and could well be back again after a bitterly disappointing domestic campaign.
With their 150th anniversary looming next year, Sion Mills are pulling out all the stops to ensure that the landmark celebrations reflect the magnificent history of one of Ireland's proudest clubs. Despite their recent problems the club has never been short on vision - last year they had Ireland skipper William Porterfield handing out their annual awards and last Saturday night Kyle McCallan turned up to lend a hand.
Obviously having the likes of Kieran Kennedy involved does little harm in that department but the club are really eager to involve as many of the North West clubs as possible in next year's festivities. Stalwart John Browne suggested that there are several events currently being explored including a game against an invitational XI at "the wee holm".
The former skipper said "We would like to think we're a club with few enemies and we're really looking forward to celebrating with our friends in the cricket world next year. We are in the process of establishing an anniversary committee and have already had offers of help from local people and businesses. Sion has always been a community club and we're hopeful of involving the whole village in what should be a special summer"
Finally for now and away from the local scene there is only one note to end on - the magnificent achievements of the Ireland team in the T20 WQ's in Abu Dhabi over the past month. William Porterfield's team has long since cemented its position at the top of the Associate tree, however should they go on to win through the second pre-qualifying tournament in Bangladesh you sense that the ICC will have run out of places to hide from the claim for promotion.
On the down side of course Phil Simmons now has to find someone to fill TJ's size 12's if he cannot convince his general to get into the trenches one more time. The Head Coach may have options to replace Johnston in the playing department, but will find his presence an altogether different commodity to replicate.
For now though the boys can celebrate another job well done and look forward to March when one or two of the "big guns" will be looking a little nervously over their shoulder.