Coleraine midfielder Stephen Lowry says he 'appreciates' the game even more as he aims to put injury setbacks behind him as the Bannsiders aim to cement top six place

The 37-year-old has missed a large portion of the campaign to date but has made his comeback in recent weeks as the Bannsiders are unbeaten in four of their last five Sports Direct Premiership fixtures.

Coleraine lead Loughgall by three points in the race for the final top six place and Lowry's return has helped give the engine room at The Showgrounds some much-needed experience for the run-in.

The ex-Linfield ace - who is also on the coaching panel under Oran Kearney's management - stressed that he wants to be in the starting eleven "on merit" and that being in his twilight years of his career means he has appreciated crossing the white line even more.

"Football is a funny old game," he remarked.

"When you're a bit older, you appreciate everything that little bit more.

"You appreciate being on the pitch, you appreciate training and I don't think I've missed a session in ten weeks which has stood me in good stead.

"My body feels like I've got all those injuries out of my system, I feel like I'm in a good place, I can read the game well, I've got legs around me and good players behind me.

"At the same, you want to be selected on merit. I want to keep my place, I want to be in the team and push players around me.

"To be honest, I'm loving every minute being back."

Coleraine picked up a 0-0 draw in their last outing against league leaders Larne at The Showgrounds, making it three successive clean sheets in the Premiership.

Lowry believes that a solid foundation is the perfect springboard to pick up points.

He added: "It was a good game and I thought we were competitive against a top team in Larne.

"I felt we deserved to get a draw and we restricted them in the first half to shots from distance and we frustrated them in the second half.

"From our point of view, we've got to be happy with a point and whilst we want to win every game, we have to be realistic as well.

"The defenders have been brilliant to be honest.

"We switched to a three-at-the-back last weekend, Kieran Farren came in against Newry City and was excellent but picked a knock, so Stephen O'Donnell returned and I thought he kicked and headed everything.

"I have to say it feels like there's a good balance in the team, there's a good fight, a good hunger and we've shown what we need to do to be competitive in the Irish League in the last three or four games."

Coleraine are on their travels to Crusaders this afternoon and Stephen is looking forward to another battle against his brother Philip.

"I haven't had a kick at Philip for a while," he joked.

"We will look forward to the game and they're coming off the back of a good win at Ballymena United.

"They're a top team but we're probably both evenly matched.

"We still have a lot to play for to keep the unbeaten run going and we have to get the top six secured.

"There's a good hunger in the changing room to go to Crusaders to get the three points."