Glenavon boss taking nothing for granted ahead of Newry fixture

Gary Hamilton is taking nothing for granted as Glenavon look to wrap up a place in the European play-offs this weekend.

Victory over Newry City on Saturday would be enough to see them over the line should Carrick Ramgers fail to beat Portadown, who need a win themselves to have a chance of staying up.

As it stands Hamilton’s side have a “dangerous” five point advantage over the Taylor’s Avenue side with three games left.

“I wouldn’t say we are comfortable because in football anything can happen,” he told Glenavon Media.

“If you were to lose the next game and they were the win the gap is down to two points, then if Carrick were to beat us it puts them one ahead.

“It can turn very, very quickly. Five points is dangerous one. If it was six it would be slightly different because we have such a good goal difference.

“We have to make sure we get the required points from now on in the season to make sure we get that seventh place. I asked the boys to do that from the start of the Ballymena game and they did that.

“It’s now on to Newry on Saturday and hopefully we’ll get another three points. It’s never easy down there. It wasn’t easy the last time we were down there – we won but it still wasn’t easy.

“They’ve beaten us twice at home as well so we know it will be a difficult game.

“We need to be in the form that we have been in over the last five or six weeks.”

The Lurgan Blues are in fine fettle at the moment, topping the form table with 16 points out of their last six games. Their unbeaten run now stretches to seven games.

The last time these teams met a Jamie Doran strike started City on a four game losing streak, however Darren Mullen’s men have won their last two, enough to save them from the automatic drop.