Darren Mullen wary of threat posed by managerless Ards

Interim manager Daryl Phillips will lead the north Down side to The Showgrounds following the departure of John Bailie at the end of last month.

Mullen feels that now makes Ards a more difficult prospect for his Championship leaders.

“Ards have obviously lost their manager and that makes them become very dangerous as you don’t know how they are going to set up,” he told the Campbell’s Footballs podcast.

“We certainly won’t be complacent. It’s a great opportunity for us to get into the quarter-final.”

Mullen’s men were originally due to face Dundela, but Niall Currie’s side were expelled from the competition for fielding an ineligible player, and Mullen said he had sympathy for the Duns.

“I feel sorry for Dundela. I don’t like the protest thing as a whole,” he said.

“I know you have to stick to the rules, but I do feel sorry for them for what was an innocent error if you like.

“There’s nothing we can do, we just have to focus on Ards.”

Newry currently lead the Championship by eight points with promotion the goal this season, and beating Warrenpoint Town in the previous round has given them a real appetite to get up.

“The league is our priority and anything after that is a bonus,” said Mullen.

“Playing against Warrenpoint twice this season has given us a gauge of what it’s like against Premiership opposition and it showed we aren’t too far away.”