Sports Direct Premiership (Friday, 7.45pm)
Portadown v Linfield
GOOD times lie ahead for Linfield after manager David Healy decided to stay at the south Belfast club, says winger Kirk Millar.
The 32-year-old says he is delighted with the news and is determined to help his manager win the title this season after two barren years.
The Blues have made a flying start to the new league season, winning all four games to date.
Next up for Linfield is Portadown at Shamrock Park on Friday as they look to take maximum points before reigning champions Larne begin the defence of their title at Coleraine on Sunday.
Healy will be in the dugout after a change of heart last weekend that saw him reject an offer to manage Raith Rovers in Scotland to sign an extension that keeps him at Windsor Park until 2026.
Millar was signed by Warren Feeney in August 2014 but has spent the bulk of his decade at Windsor under Healy, becoming one of his most trusted lieutenants in the dressing room.
He says he is delighted his manager opted to stay and can understand why the Killyleagh man didn’t want to leave.
“Obviously I’ve played a lot under the gaffer, he has been in the job most of the time I have been here so I didn’t want to see him go,” said the Shankill Road man.
“I’m glad he stayed and I wasn’t surprised by his decision, even though he turned down a big job.
“I know the love he has for the club and the players in the dressing room.
“The news about Raith Rovers broke before our game against Loughgall last weekend so he had a good chat about it with us and put the boys’ minds to rest.
“There was no talk about it being possibly his last game before kick-off. We had a job to do against Loughgall, get the three points and we did it.
“We have enjoyed good times under the gaffer and we want to continue that, we want to repay him.
“We have 12 points on the board and we want to make it 15 points by taking all three points at Shamrock Park.
“It’s always a hard place to go and we have struggled at times there.
“Portadown have signed a lot of new players so there’s an element of not knowing what we are going to get.
“We are hurting after two years of not winning the title and we want to rectify that.”
Most observers feel Linfield and Larne will once again fight it out for the Gibson Cup this season, perhaps with other teams involved too.
In contrast to Portadown’s revolving door this summer, the Blues’ transfer activity has been quiet by modern-day standards.
Larne lost Lee Bonis to Dutch soccer but moved swiftly to sign Benji Magee and Jordan McEneff.
With the help of NIFL and rival clubs, Larne’s opening games were postponed to assist their endeavours in Europe.
Millar makes no secret about Linfield’s determination to put the pressure on the reigning champions before they play Coleraine on Sunday (2.15pm).
“We want to give them a mountain to climb when they return. That’s our job,” he said.
“We have to look after ourselves and do our own job.”
Ballymena United v Glenavon
GLENAVON boss Stephen McDonnell is hoping to capitalise on the “underdog” tag this season as his team heads into a crunch tie with bottom-of-the-table Ballymena United at the Showgrounds.
After three straight defeats to open the campaign, the Lurgan Blues got their first victory last Saturday, winning 2-0 away to Coleraine thanks to goals from Keith Ward and ex-Ballymena player David McDaid, and McDonnell is hopeful they can carry through some momentum into this fixture.
“We haven’t beaten a top-six side in 90 minutes of Irish League football until against Coleraine,” said the Dundalk native.
“Every game is huge for us. We have been tipped for relegation, so we have got that underdog tag.
“We’ll have our boys ready and if they repeat the trick out of possession like against Coleraine and don’t give anything up soft or easy, we’re more than a match for anyone in this league.”
Jim Ervin’s United remain rooted to the bottom despite bringing in a number of headline-grabbing signings over the summer, including Ben Kennedy from Crusaders and Stephen O’Donnell from Coleraine.
With hopes high amongst fans at the start of the season, four straight defeats will have put some early pressure on Ervin, and he will be hoping for a change in fortune this evening.
“We need to get a major response come Friday evening,” he said following last week’s defeat at Dungannon Swifts.
“They’re all big games, no matter who you are playing. Whether it’s a team at the top of the table or a team at the bottom of the table, they’re all difficult games and they all have their own challenges.
“It’s up to me to get the boys in and regroup and make sure we are focused and ready to go on Friday night.”
Ervin can point to the fact that the first three games of the season were against sides finishing inside the top six last year, but after defeat by Dungannon, supporters will not accept a home defeat by another bottom-six side tonight.
United can bring confidence from the last two meetings between the sides, when they ran out 1-0 winners on both occasions, but it is their difficulty in finding the net that is often their downfall. They have failed to score in three of their opening four games so far, a statistic that is worrying to say the least.
A win for Glenavon tonight will give them confidence of really kicking on in the table, whilst for Ervin it is a necessity if he is to retain the reins at Warden Street.
