Ards man, Joe McManus took over as 1st.XI manager and this led to the arrival of several established players as the geographical base of the Club expanded. To help attract younger players, the 3rd.XI was reformed after an absence of three seasons and this proved to be a success as several of the younger players made their way up through the ranks. A bad start to the 1986/ 87 season by all three teams did not cause excessive concern as the emphasis had been placed on the development of individual talent and team performances rather than results.

Despite this approach, the final League tables of that season came as a great shock with the 1st. and 3rd.XIs finishing third bottom and the 2nd.XI last in their respective Leagues. An impressive presentation to the Amateur League Interview Panel by Committee members Peter Vannucci, Archie Walls and Andrew McGivern left the Swifts hopeful that their application would be successful. It was obvious by this stage in the Club’s history that, without the fresh challenge of Amateur League football, the Swifts would find it very difficult to reverse the downward trend of previous seasons.
Hopes of admission to the Amateur League had been raised when a letter was received before the June AGM from that organisation stating that the Swifts had been placed on a shortlist for membership.

When the confirmation letter eventually arrived safely on Secretary, Peter Vannucci’s doorstep, the feelings of delight were tainted with a tinge of sadness as the letter came too late to inform club stalwart, Jack Barr who had sadly passed away on Wednesday, 17 June 1987.

It was a shattering blow to the Club members, especially the Officials, when they heard of his untimely death, as Jack had been anxious that the Club would finally achieve it’s ambition of playing in the highest standard of Junior Football and, despite his poor health, he had been waiting faithfully to hear how their latest application had fared.