Swifts must be switched on for every game: Johnston

GOALKEEPER Sam Johnston believes Dungannon Swifts must develop a mental toughness to help them climb out of the bottom two in the Danske Bank Premiership table.

The struggling County Tyrone side have pocketed merely eight points from 11 starts so far which means, even at this early stage of the league campaign, a relegation battle appears to be on the horizon.

They can take heart from a spirited performance against Linfield last time out. Although David Healy’s side eventually wrapped up a 4-0 win, they were held until 24 minutes from time by a battling Swifts.

Former Ards shot-stopper Johnston reckons his side has suffered from lapses in concentration levels in certain games this season.

“We did really well against Linfield for over an hour,” he said. “It was a total contrast from our previous match against Ballymena United. We simply didn’t come out for the second half after leading one-nil at the break. We caved in once they scored the equaliser.

“It was different at Windsor Park. Even when they did take the lead, our heads didn’t go down — we didn’t give up.

“We’ve played superbly to beat Cliftonville and Coleraine, while we performed well against the Blues, but when the likes of Warrenpoint Town, Portadown or Carrick Rangers come along, we don’t perform as well.

“It’s maybe a mentality thing, knowing we did well in the bigger games, we should be okay in the smaller matches — but it doesn’t work like that. We need to be mentally switched on for 90 minutes in every game.”

It is Cliftonville who make their second visit to Stangmore Park today — they lost 2-1 in November.

“It’s another big test for us,” added Johnston. “But we can take confidence from our last result against them at our place.

“That was also played behind closed doors, as will this one. They’ll not have the big band of fans behind them, so it will be a level playing field.

“The break over Christmas and the New Year will be a big benefit for us. I could see, especially after the Ballymena game, that a few boys needed a week off to rejuvenate the batteries.

“They have really looked sharp in training since we returned.

“It’s vital to get as many points on board as possible because clubs don’t know what they could be hit with in coming months because of the Covid situation.”