TONIGHT’S TEAM NEWS: P46-47
HIGH-RIDING Glenavon boss Gary Hamilton believes that Linfield and Crusaders should be occupying the top two positions in the Irish League as they have the “biggest budgets, biggest squads and best players”.
Hamilton’s (right) comments come ahead of his team’s opportunity to move into first place in the Danske Bank Premiership if they manage to secure an away win against Ards tonight.
Early season mind games or simply an honest opinion? Hamilton, when quizzed about the opportunity to move into pole position in the title race, said: “We are not bothered about that.
“We just want to win games of football. Linfield and Crusaders are the teams that should be in the top two positions. Everybody knows that.
“They have the biggest budgets, they have the biggest squads and based on previous years they have the best players because they have won league titles.”
A Glenavon victory over Colin Nixon’s side would see the Lurgan Blues leapfrog current league leaders Linfield and stay well ahead of champions Crusaders, who they defeated 3-2 in a cracker at Mourneview Park on Saturday.
“It will be a difficult game because Ards have been doing really well this season,” added Hamilton.
“They have drawn with Linfield and Coleraine, two top sides, and Colin has them going very well.
“We should take confidence from our performance against Crusaders but we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to go there with the right attitude and the right commitment.
“We have to show the desire in the win over Crusaders and the desire we have shown in most of the games this season.
“Just because you have beaten a team like Crusaders it isn’t a matter of turning up when you play a team lower than you. You must have the right mentality and if they go with that and play the way they can play there is a chance of getting three points.”
Also tonight Crusaders will look to bounce back from their weekend defeat when they go to bottom club Dungannon Swifts while there will be a big crowd at the Coleraine Showgrounds when Rodney McAree’s men face Ballymena United in an eagerly-anticipated derby.