Thomas Maguire says Dungannon Swifts will not shy away from the heightened expectation levels next season. The Swifts made it a campaign to remember last time out by winning the Irish Cup , qualifying for Europe and finishing fourth in the league. Maguire knows there will be an expectation about the league for the Stangmore Park to go again this term, but the 25-year-old insists the squad will embrace it. “I think across the board every man has that expectation on themselves first and foremost,” said Maguire. “Obviously we’ve done extraordinarily well last season in terms of winning the Irish Cup and finishing fourth in the league. “But I think everyone in the squad will be looking to do better than that next season and then obviously that will just filter right through as there will be expectations from the manager, the coaches, the fans and the board. “We’ll be looking to try and kick on and better our season next year. I think why not? We’ve done extremely well but why can’t we go on and win trophies again next season?” The Swifts have lost a key member of their Irish Cup winning squad with striker John McGovern moving on to Shamrock Rovers and fellow forward Maguire says he takes inspiration for what McGovern did in a Swifts shirt. “John did exceptionally well last season and he fully deserved his move,” he said. “So yeah, it’s a character that’s not going to be about anymore but I’m pretty confident that we’ll be able to step up to the task of not having John and hopefully we’ll be able to kick on from last season. “We did exceptionally well last season as a team and the team changed pretty frequently and personally I was in and out. “So next season for me it’s just trying to cement my starting 11 spot and kick on from there and help the team in any way I can. “I think it’s inspirational for all the players on the team to see John get the move. There might be clubs from elsewhere looking at Dungannon and getting their eyes open to this is Dungannon Swifts, they mean business. “So they might pinpoint players who are obviously doing well for us and who do deserve a move because like I said, John did extremely well and deserved his move.” The Swifts are back at Windsor Park on Friday for the season curtain raiser as they take on Linfield in the Charity Shield as they build up to their UEFA Conference League clash with FC Vaduz. “There’s something to play for there, another bit of silverware, which is a bit of a bonus in pre-season,” said Maguire. “And then we play Linfield on matchday one so we’ll be able to feel each other out and see how we fare in the first game of the season.”