Tomorrow night’s Mid-Ulster derby at Shamrock Park will be Stephen McBride’s last game as first team coach for Glenavon. Unfortunately new work commitments and a change in his work patterns mean he has been unable to make the Tuesday and Thursday training nights.

“It’s a big blow to us to lose Stevie’s services,” Gary Hamilton told us on Monday afternoon. “Although he would have been ok for the Saturday games, Stevie, as is typical of the man who has Glenavon at heart, felt it wasn’t right to stay on if he was not able to take training on a regular basis. Paul (Millar) and I have enjoyed working with him and the players have enjoyed and got a lot from his training sessions. He’s an honest and trustworthy person who it’s been a pleasure to work with and I’d like to thank him for his work over the short time he’s been our coach.”

Gary informed us that he is actively seeking a replacement for Stephen and hopes to have a new coach in place as soon as possible.