Glenavon play their last game of the 21/22 season at home tomorrow, against Warrenpoint Town, who play their last game of the competition before facing relegation to the Championship.
The Lurgan Blues go into the game off the back of a 1-0 win over rivals Portadown last Saturday in the Mid-Ulster derby. The win was secured through a Danny Wallace header, nodding home a corner kick in the 14th minute of the game.
Speaking to Glenavon Media, manager Gary Hamilton reflects on the season’s ambitions and looks ahead to the game.
“We sat down with the board and a realistic target was seventh. If we had a really good season and a bit of luck we might have finished sixth but seventh was our target.
“Obviously we all have ambitions of finishing higher but when you look at the teams above us, the squads they have and the money they’re spending, we would have needed one of those teams to have had a really poor season and us to have had a season of really good luck.
“It’s been a tough ask for the boys but it has been a great changing room all year. All credit goes to them.
“We’ve given ourselves an opportunity now. I’m not saying we are going to go and win it – there’s no point in making statements like that – but they’ve given themselves an opportunity and that’s all we can ask of them.
“At the end of the day the team who finishes sixth still has the same opportunity that we have – the only difference is that we are away from home.
“We will have been able to give the boys a night off and the boys that weren’t playing will get an opportunity against Warrenpoint. I’ll be able to give the young lads a chance against Premiership opposition and see who can handle it and who can’t. It’s a good opportunity for those young kids.
“After Saturday we will start preparing because we know that we will have potentially three games in the play-offs. We want to give ourselves the best opportunity and have the best preparation that we can in order to get that European spot.
Hopefully the game provides good experience to the youngsters hoping to feature in the lineup.
The game has a delayed kick-off of 5:30pm, due to the Linfield v Coleraine game being televised on BBC. The Bedeck Suite will be open from 3pm. The Alan Steele Glenavon Player of the Year Award will also be presented to the player nominated for Player of the Year before the game.
Tickets can be bought via the ticketing tab above.
PLAYER NEWS
Gary will have a full squad at his disposal, with the exception of McCloskey and Hall.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Tony Clarke
Assistant Referees: George Argyropoulos, Ken Ross
Fourth Official: Barry Monaghan
MATCH SPONSORS
Match Sponsor: Lockton Insurance
Ball Sponsor: Patience Rewarded Syndicate
Man of the Match Sponsor: Mid-Ulster Youth League Academy
