lindsay wantsmore of same

The Swifts eased their relegation worries with an impressive victory against Cliftonville.

It has positioned them further clear of Ards and Newry heading into the final third of the league campaign.

Lindsay has been pleased with their recent form, but warned there is plenty of work still ahead.

“We’ve a bit of breathing space but in this league eight points is nothing,” he said.

“Other teams can string runs together and we can go on losing runs as well, so we’ll not be getting too carried away.

“We’ll keep doing what we are doing. If we keep to that level of performance and work-rate, then we’ll win more than we lose.

“But we’ve got to keep that up - it’s up to us to carry that same level into games and that starts again at Coleraine next weekend.”

Dungannon had a bad end to 2018 - failing to win in December, culminating in a dismal 3-0 home loss to basement side Ards.

After that game, it looked like being a tough run-in for the Swifts, promoted to the top division back in 2003.

But they have turned a corner since the Ards game, beating Glentoran on New Year’s Day, drawing at Ballymena with 10 men, and now this.

They led on Saturday through Daniel Hughes’s well-taken finish.

Jamie Harney levelled for the Reds after half-time, but two more goals from Hughes sealed a comfortable win for the Swifts.

Lindsay added: “All over the pitch we were excellent.

“We created more chances than the three goals, and if I’m being slightly critical we could have scored more, but we’ll take that any week. Defensively I thought we were excellent - we were solid - and we fully deserved to win.”

Dungannon also beat Cliftonville in the Irish Cup at the start of the month.

While the Swifts’ form has improved, the North Belfast side are on a poor run - this was their sixth defeat in seven.

The club announced it had parted company with boss Barry Gray shortly after the final whistle.

Gray left without conducting any post-match media duties.

Hughes, meanwhile, was pleased with another positive result for Dungannon. The striker has been impressed by how they have responded since the Ards defeat last month.

“Everybody was really down after that game, but I think it was a day when we just weren’t at it,” Hughes added.

“The only response we could have had was to go out and win the next game. Since then we have been working hard in training and it is showing in our performances. We are playing with a bit more confidence, which comes with good results.”

DGN SWIFTS: Moore, Hegarty, Armstrong, Hughes (Lafferty, 81), McElroy, Teggart (Campbell,46), O’Rourke, Patton, Lowe (Ferrin, 54), Hutchinson, Smyth; Subs not used: Moran, Dykes, Gallagher.

CLIFTONVILLE: Brush, Harney, C Curran, Harkin (McGovern, 72), R Curran, Garrett (Maguire, 72), Bagnall, Gormley, Lavery (Catney, 72), McMenamin, Gorman; Subs not used: Neeson, Breen, McConnell, A Donnelly.

Referee: Shane Andrews (Comber).