Even Paddy McLaughlin's 'Player of the Month' pick will face battle to break into in-form Glenavon side
Even Paddy McLaughlin’s pick for ‘Player of the Month’ honours will have “a fight on his hands” to make the Glenavon line-up tonight against Larne.
The Lurgan Blues boss’ reaction to the return from suspension of playmaker Peter Campbell for a trip to the defending league champions served as a sign of the positivity within the Glenavon camp.
Saturday’s win over Cliftonville by a 3-1 margin marked a fifth consecutive Sports Direct Premiership success.
Campbell returns from suspension with both words of praise and a warning to the winger – and everyone else in the Glenavon squad – of the high stakes and high confidence following the weekend reshuffle.
"Whilst I knew that we were bringing in quality players (against Cliftonville), the team probably exceeded my expectations,” said McLaughlin on the official Glenavon website. “But, in my opinion, Peter has been the best player in the league over the last two months.
"He has been absolutely outstanding...I was disappointed that he did not win the ‘Player of the Month’ award.
“He is ready to play but he is not certain to start...in fact, he has a fight on his hands to get back into the 11.”
McLaughlin heads to Inver Park delighted with progress to date following his November arrival.
"You have to be cautious and never get complacent, we do have one eye looking over our shoulder but we're ambitious and want to climb,” he told media on Saturday. "We want to climb up the league as far as we can...there's 12 matches to go and you never know if you keep your form and consistency what can happen.”