Bannsiders will use two week break 'wisely' but only we can make a good end to the season come together, says Coleraine chief Oran Kearney

The Bannsiders were eliminated from the famous competition at the first time of asking as Cliftonville ran out 3-0 victors after extra-time in the fifth round at The Showgrounds.

After going into the turn of the year without a win in seven matches in all competitions, the Bannsiders have since won three out of their last four games to boost their chances of securing 6th spot in the table.

The latest success came at the Newry Showgrounds last weekend as Conor McKendry and Matthew Shevlin netted first-half goals in a 2-0 victory on the road.

That result – coupled with Carrick Rangers’ 3-3 draw away at Loughgall – means Coleraine are now three points clear in a race to secure the final spot in the top six ahead of the post-split fixtures.

"It is frustrating and ideally you'd want a game," said Kearney about this week's inactivity.

"We will take a little bit of a break through the week and bring the boys in for a good in-house game to make sure everyone gets minutes and we keep people pushing on.

"The likes of Jamie McGonigle and Jack Scott have missed a lot of football, so for those guys it's important that we keep getting minutes into them.

"We've a couple of guys carrying aches and pains who we will wrap in cotton wool.

"We will use the two weeks wisely."

Kearney believes having the availability of a near-enough full squad from injury and his January arrivals have played a significant role in a return back to form.

When asked about experiencing a positive end to the campaign, he stressed: "Only us can make it come together.

"I think bar Stephen O'Donnell and Josh Carson, and we have a couple of others around the periphery, we've got the injured numbers down from six or seven to two.

"That's been the big difference for us to get the quality with what we've started with today and the substitutes we are able to bring on, it hasn't been like that for large parts of the season."