Glenavon faces Newry City at Mourneview Park on Saturday. Following the departure of long-serving boss Darren Mullen, the frontier club is now managed by Darren’s assistant, Gary Boyle. It has won one of its three Premiership fixtures to date, a 2-0 success against Carrick Rangers at Taylor’s Avenue.

Gary Hamilton wants his team to build on Tuesday night’s encouraging display at the National Stadium, Windsor Park. “I felt that we matched Linfield for large parts of the game,” he said. “Probably the only difference between the sides was Joel Cooper’s brilliant goal and the pass which Kirk Millar played which led to the second penalty. Those were two moments of outstanding quality. But we competed all over the pitch, passed the ball well and could have scored more than twice.”

Hamilton is hoping that his team will be both watchful and positive against the County Down men. “Most of the squad were here last season so they should not be under any illusions about the threat Newry will pose,” he continued. “But I want us to play on the front foot, create chances and work their goalkeeper. If we do that, we have nothing to fear.”

Gary reports that new signing Niall Quinn is making good progress as he recovers from a hamstring injury. “We will assess Niall again next week,” he added. “Having said that I don’t expect him to be available until September. It is a blow because, as our supporters saw against Glentoran, he is very talented.”

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