Manager’s programme notes
Posted : 7th January 2023
Today we will commence our Irish Cup campaign with a visit from a Warrenpoint Town team we know well, having played against them for several seasons when they played in the Premiership.
They always gave us a tough assignment when we played against them in league action and I’m expecting nothing different today. Their main focus will obviously be to win promotion at the first time of asking but they will come here with a sense of freedom today and knowing that a good result here can give them momentum and confidence, to take into their promotion push over the coming months.
The Irish Cup is a major priority for us this season and we want to secure the positive result we need today, to hopefully see us safely into the hat for the next round. Cup competitions are notoriously full of shocks and we need to ensure we are not on the receiving end of another one today.
January is a massively important month for us, with eight games scheduled across three competitions but we will approach each game as we always do - on a one game at a time basis.
We know we have huge games ahead but we will only turn our attention to those fixtures after the final whistle in today’s vitally important cup game.
We were delighted with the win in the Boxing Day derby at the Oval. Despite the lateness of the winning goal, it was a thoroughly deserved win and one that I know sent our large travelling support home very happy. The decisive goal by Eetu Vertainen was quite stunning and worthy of winning any game in any country.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to secure the win our play deserved in the subsequent league game at home to Coleraine. The visitors defended defiantly and on the day, we just couldn’t get the break through goal and had to settle for a point that could still be vital, come the end of the season. The top of the table is very congested and I expect that to be the case until the very end.
Two of our key players - Stephen Fallon and Jimmy Callacher - have unfortunately sustained injuries which look like keeping them out of action for a significant period of time. While they are huge losses, it’s very much a squad game and I was hugely impressed with Michael Newberry who stepped in for Jimmy in our previous game and looked like he’d been playing all season.
Ben Hall and Jordan Stewart have been gaining game time in recent matches for the Swifts and Niall Quinn returned to the subs bench in the New Year game against Coleraine. We will look forward to welcoming Kirk Millar back to the squad in the coming weeks and with so many fixtures still to play this season, we are going to need as many of our absentees back and available for selection.
Robbie McDaid may be unavailable for today’s game, having had to be replaced in the closing stages of the Coleraine game but our medical team will assess him and a few others in the build up to today’s game.
The transfer window opened a few days ago and we will be monitoring a number of options, to see if we can add extra quality to the squad before the month end.
Eight fixtures in January will be a strain on the finances of many of our supporters but I want you to know the positive vocal support we receive, is appreciated and indeed relied upon.