Gary Hamilton will be reshuffling his midfield for tomorrow’s Danske Bank Premiership fixture with Ballymena in the wake of James Singleton breaking his leg in the NI U21 game on Tuesday evening. The 20 year old, who was earning his second cap, had made the central midfield role his own for Glenavon in the last month or so and his excellent performances had seen Under 21 manager Jim Magilton draft him into the squad for the European Championship qualifiers and hand him his second start against FYR Macedonia after he impressed last month in a 1-1 draw in Iceland.

“It’s a massive blow for James and for the club, management and players,” Gary told us as he looked ahead to tomorrow’s game and the rest of the season. “His attitude and infectious approach on and off the pitch has really been an inspiration to us all. He’s made two positions his own, starting at left back when he first came into the team and recently he’s been excellent in central midfield where he’s taken to the Ciaran Martyn role.

“We could never have anticipated losing two central midfielders with long-term injuries but it gives someone else the opportunity to step up to the plate and grab their chance. Mark Sykes has all the attributes to make it his own and it’s time now for him to put in consistent performances every week.”

Gary is playing down the fact that Glenavon seem to have been United’s ‘bogey team’; in recent seasons. “Glentoran, Linfield and Portadown were our bogey teams for years but now we’ve re-dressed that and we go into every game against them with at least a 50/50 chance of winning. Last season we beat Ballymena 2-1 here but, to be honest, on the day they were probably better than us and deserved something from the game so we’ll not be taking them lightly tomorrow.

“In my opinion, this season has been our best period since I became manager and, apart from the first game of the season when we lost to Cliftonville, I believe we’ve played well enough to have deserved something from every game.”

Our Sponsors

Our Match Sponsor tomorrow is the City of Armagh Glenavon Supporters Club. Although having one of the smallest memberships, the Armagh SC continues to be very active in providing vital funds and sponsorship to the parent Club. The Ball Sponsor is our Club Chaplain Paul Whittaker who recently returned to the role after some years away. The Man of the Match sponsor is young Sophie Burrell – thanks to mum and dad Debbie and Deane for allowing her to spend some of her pocket money on supporting Glenavon 😉

Match Programme

‘Singy’ features on the cover of this week’s matchday programme as we all wish him a full and speedy recovery #BeJustAndFearNot. Find out which @Glenavon_FC player “hasn’t a clue” when it comes to their dress sense. All this and much more for £2.00.

Match Officials