Gary Haveron: Larne 'need to go again' as league leaders aim to maintain pole position
After watching their Irish Cup dreams end and then suffering a heavy home defeat to Coleraine in their last two games, Larne boss Gary Haveron is hoping they can go one step further in their bid for Gibson Cup glory on Saturday afternoon.
The Invermen travel to Windsor Park to face last year’s champions Linfield after a difficult week which saw back-to-back defeats to Coleraine in both the Irish Cup and Sports Direct Premiership.
Larne’s lead at the summit has now been cut to just three points as Glentoran are next in the wings, with the Bannsiders a further two adrift as the race for the title heats up.
When asked about how he lifts his players up for the trip to the capital, Haveron replied: “We've got to dust ourselves down and lick our wounds.
"That was a hard one to take out there on Tuesday night...there were a lot of tired bodies out there.
"You could see it with the players as they put a lot of effort into Saturday's game.
"There was nothing much between the two teams on Saturday, but with the strength and depth of their squad, they probably made a slightly bigger impact.
"We had no Leroy Miller or no Paul O'Neill on Tuesday night and they are two big players for us.
"Mark Randall is still well short of match fitness because he's coming back after a long-term injury.
“We missed them players and you can't afford to go into these games without them.
"I can't fault the boys for effort, it was hard for them out there. We need to go again and we've got to be prepared for going to Windsor on Saturday.
"They're all massive games, but there's no difference now.
"Anybody in this top six is capable of beating anybody...we had two games against Coleraine which were 50-50 games, they could have gone either way but we've come out the wrong side of both results.”
Meanwhile, Haveron has been named the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association Manager of the Month for March following an outstanding run of results in the month.
Haveron guided Larne to three important victories in the Sports Direct Premiership during March, defeating Cliftonville, Glenavon and Dungannon Swifts.
In addition to their league success, Larne also progressed in the Irish Cup with an impressive quarter-final victory over Glentoran at The Oval.
Haveron said: “It’s always an honour to win this award, it would not be possible without the help of our backroom staff and the players, who have worked so hard this season.
“Unfortunately, we’ve not carried our March form into April with the two defeats against Coleraine.
“But that’s football. There’s still plenty to play for with three massive league games between now and the end of the season, starting with Linfield on Saturday.
“We're three points clear and we have to take advantage of that. We know we're capable of beating any team in the league.
“We know how strong Linfield are, and they will be tough to beat at Windsor. We just need to be the best version of ourselves, and if we get an honest performance from the lads and they leave it all out there on the pitch, regardless of the result, I'll be proud of them.”