Newry City are hoping to seal their top flight status for next season, when they take on Glenavon on Saturday at The Showgrounds (3pm).
Newry’s fantastic start to the Danske Bank Premiership split has seen them open up a five-point gap over Dungannon Swifts, and an unassailable 10-point gap over bottom club Portadown, with three games to go.
Consequently, if City can get all three points, and Dunganon fail to defeat Ballymena United, Darren Mullen’s side will be safe.
They put themselves in this position with two wins on the spin, defeating Carrick Rangers 2-0, and Portadown 1-0, both away from home.
To do so, they had to overcome adversity with Ryan McGivern being sent off 30 minutes into their win over Carrick, before they defeated the Ports with an undermanned squad, missing McGivern, John McGovern, and captain Darren King.
Central midfielder Thomas Lockhart praised the character of his team, in getting those victories.
“Going into the Carrick game at the start of the split, we knew it was a massive game,” he said.
“Then we went down to 10 men so early in the game, and a lot of teams probably would have hit the panic button, but we showed great character. We stuck together, that was the main thing. Our backs were against the wall, but we dug out a result, and I’m sure the fans were delighted with it.
“Against Portadown we had players come in and they did very well, but look, we have known from the start of the season that in terms of budget and finances, we’re on the lower end of the spectrum in the league, but we all believe that we have a strong enough squad.”
Newry started the season superbly and opened up an 11-point gap on the relegation zone by the middle of November, but a dip in form, which saw them lose 2-0 and 4-3 at home to Dungannon and Portadown respectively, saw them dragged back into the relegation mix.
However, they have managed to pull themselves to within points of safety, and Lockhart puts it down to their hard work.
“With any season, you’re going to have your ups and downs – our ‘down’ probably lasted longer than we would have liked – but those two results have given us great momentum,” he said.
“Every team has down moments throughout a season, but I know this squad, the players that we have, and the backroom staff, everybody works very hard each and every night at training and on matchdays, and we will continue to fight until the end of the season.”
Up next are Glenavon, who occupy the seventh-placed spot, needing only five points to confirm their place in the European play-offs, and as they are on a seven-game unbeaten run, Lockhart is under no illusions of their strength.
“Glenavon are flying. They’ve been on a good run since we beat them at Mourneview Park in February,” he said.
“That result seemed to give them a kick. It’ll be a tough game; we played them not too long ago at home, and even though they won, I thought it was a very even game.
“Glenavon will probably be one of the toughest games of the split, but we’re going in with a lot of momentum, and we have every confidence and hopefully we’re able to stay safe for next season.”
Elsewhere, Dungannon have little margin for error if they are to catch Newry, and they travel to Ballymena United on Saturday.
Ballymena will be looking over their shoulder, as they sit only three points ahead of City, and may be overtaken, if their poor form continues.
For Portadown, the best they can hope for is a relegation play-off, to save their status for next season. They sit five points behind Dungannon, and host Carrick Rangers, who also have a five-point gap to make up, behind seventh-placed Glenavon.
