Stephen McDonnell hopeful young Glenavon star can finish season on a high after ticking off goal milestone

The 18-year-old is currently on loan at the Lurgan Blues from Shelbourne and in his eighth Premiership appearance ticked off an important milestone after coming off the bench as an early replacement for Aaron Prendergast.

Hodgins is a highly-rated young forward having represented the Republic of Ireland at underage level while he was also been linked with the likes of AZ Alkmaar, Hull City and Ipswich Town as recently as October following his goalscoring exploits with Shelbourne’s U19s.

He could have a big role to play on Saturday afternoon when Glenavon travel to Loughgall, who currently occupy seventh spot but sit just two points ahead of McDonnell’s men with four matches left to play.

"I'm delighted for wee Hodge to get off the mark...that's what he's all about,” McDonnell told the club’s media channel. “Unfortunately it has come a bit late for him but hopefully it can give him the confidence to kick on for the remaining games.

"Gav is an 18-year-old kid so we always had to add a bit of context. When you see how he finishes that you can see there's something about this kid.

"It has been difficult for Gavin because he's coming into first team football and he's expected to contribute for the first time in his career. It's a new league and it has just taken him a little bit of time to get up to speed.

"His all-round play was good and he made some clever runs. The run for the goal, first touch and strike was amazing if you ask me, so I'm chuffed for the kid. With four games left it would be great to see him go on a run and get a flurry of goals."

Doubt has surrounded Glenavon’s potential participation in European football for next season with 32-year-old McDonnell not holding a UEFA Pro Licence, but the ex-Warrenpoint Town chief says they’ll focus on getting there first before dealing with future hurdles.

"We have to keep playing, finish seventh, get to the European play-offs and if we get into Europe then we'll talk about it,” he added. "This is a process and journey.

"We came in late-September and there has been a lot of change with style of play, personnel, the environment - there's a lot going on and it can be quite tricky when you're taking over mid-season at a club in a precarious position.

"To know that finishing seventh is in our hands...the lads need an incredible mention because they are the ones that have drove us out of a tough situation and up the table.

"They achieved the initial objective and now we want to finish seventh while it's mathematically still there and while we have the teams ahead of us to play - it's in our own hands. That has to be the target."