Every point is vital for Whitey Anderson
It’s another big one for Ballinamallard tomorrow (Saturday) when they travel to Belfast to take on the league champions Cliftonville.
“They don’t come much harder that this,” said manager Whitey Anderson. “They are challenging for the league title again and are certainly looking to retain it.”
“We’re very aware of where we are. We have eight games left in the league and every point is vital. It’s important that we really rally round now and apply ourselves.
“My disappointment last week was that in the final 15 minutes of the game we showed a lack of character and that is just not acceptable at this level or any level,” said Anderson.
“For the final 15 or 20 minutes of the Setanta game against St Patricks we were magnificent and we must get that feeling back into our system. We must get that mentality back to our games,” he stressed.
Anderson, who sat in the stand for during his one match ban for Saturday’s Irish Cup game against Glenavon pointed that all his players were in this together.
“We have to work hard for every point between now and the end of the season,” he said. “It’s all about workrate and attitude for the rest of the season. We need to show a desire and look to support everything we are trying to achieve.
We will fight for every single point. That is what it all about. We must show character with people not giving up. We must work together to achieve this goal,” he added.
Anderson feels that picking up a good result or a win would give his side real impetus.
“I think that would really help us take off,” he said.
He has a full squad to select from and adds that every player is looking to get a chance to prove themselves.
On Monday night the squad is off to Dublin for the second leg of the Setanta Cup against St Patrick’s Athletic.
The League of Ireland side hold a slender 1-0 lead going into the game and Anderson feels that anything is possible.
“In the last 20 minutes at Ferney Park we really raised our game a notch or two and showed. We really took the game to them. We want to see if we can achieve that level again against a really quality side.
“We’re delighted to be playing in this standard of competition and when we travel down there we won’t be lying down or giving in easily,” he said.
However, he stresses that his main focus this week is on the Cliftonville game at Solitude.
“That’s all we’re thinking about at the moment. We need to get things sorted out and we need to be professional about things because they are scoring goals for fun again,” said Anderson.