​Coleraine officials ‘alarmed by the level of animosity’ towards boss Oran Kearney and call for club unity

​Saturday’s loss to Loughgall by 3-1 marked a fourth consecutive Sports Direct Premiership defeat for the Bannsiders.

Kearney has highlighted player unavailability as a key issue behind this season’s lack of winning form.

The manager, however, has been faced with growing unrest at results from a section of the Coleraine fanbase.

As a result, Coleraine’s Board of Directors have moved to release a statement addressing the issue.

The statement also confirms faith in Kearney and his backroom team as “best placed to lead us forward into the new year and beyond”.

The full statement on behalf of the Coleraine Board of Directors is as follows: “Coleraine FC is a club focused on building strong foundations on and off the pitch.

"The Board of Coleraine FC acknowledges recent first team results have been disappointing, even with a number of complicating factors impacting the team.

"However, for over 12 seasons Oran has been central to our club’s journey, kick-starting football careers and providing collective success to the town and surrounding community.

"Like with any football club there have been challenges and set-backs over those 12 seasons, but they are insignificant when we look at the six cup finals and four European campaign runs that Oran has led the team on.

"Whilst results on the pitch have been disappointing, we have been alarmed by the level of animosity directed at Oran and the team, particularly on social media by a small minority of supporters.

"We are confident in the future direction of the club and are both committed to and excited by future developments.

"We continue to believe that the current management team are best placed to lead us forward into the new year and beyond.

"We as a Board, like everyone else in the Showgrounds are ultimately football fans.

"Like you, we want the team to do well.

"We would ask that you join with us in getting behind the team and coaching staff into the new year, starting with Friday night’s Irish Cup match.

"We hope to see you there.”