Glenavon looking to put cup disappointment behind them and tick off important milestone in race for Premiership top-six spot against Glentoran

​The Lurgan Blues moved into the Premiership’s top-half last weekend after beating Carrick Rangers 2-0, continuing what has been a remarkable turnaround in league fortunes under 31-year-old McDonnell.

He has won seven and drawn one of his 16 league games in charge at Mourneview Park and while they defeated a then top-six Coleraine on their way to the League Cup last-four, McDonnell’s men have yet to achieve that feat in the league as they aim to maintain their spot amongst the country’s elite.

With the Bannsiders, Carrick and Loughgall all breathing down their neck in the race to secure a guaranteed European play-off spot come April, ex-Warrenpoint Town chief McDonnell admits he wants to be competitive against every team, regardless of league position.

"Beating every team in the league is where we ultimately want to get to,” he said. “I've been very outspoken about where I want to get this football club to so that's the challenge we now face.

"If someone had said to me when I came through the door when we were labouring one position and point above bottom that you'd be top-six at the turn of the year I would have said you're absolutely bonkers.

"We have to prepare and knock on with the second-half of the season while trying to take a few scalps along the way and have our own say in the top-six. We want to challenge ourselves and see how close or far off we are off the top teams.

"We're there now (in the top-six) and we're eight games to the split. We're in control of what we can do for those eight games in how we train, prepare and ultimately how we perform.

"You see how tightly ourselves, Coleraine, Carrick and Loughgall are bunched and even Dungannon have come into the picture. It's going to be a hell of a race."

Ryan Mayse’s midweek penalty denied Glenavon their place in a first League Cup showpiece decider since 2001, but McDonnell believes the current group have already came a long way during his tenure and says they’re the “best bunch of people” he’s ever worked with.

"I've come to terms and accepted it...cup football is win or bust,” he added. “The boys are majorly disappointed and they are an unbelievable group of lads.

"I genuinely put my hand on my heart when I say it's the best bunch of people I've worked with in football. It's a really humble dressing room and they are majorly disappointed because we've came so far in three months to get to where we are in the league standings and the deep stages of the cup competition.

"I have to give them space to be disappointed because we're humans and the game is emotional. There's always another game around the corner and we get to welcome Glentoran here on Friday night.

"The lads know themselves we probably didn't do enough to win albeit we didn't do enough to lose either, but that's the way it went and we have to lick our wounds, take our medicine and come here Friday night to hopefully get back to winning ways."