Former Portadown manager Matthew Tipton has “no doubt it'll turn around soon” for David Jeffrey after a winless start to the new season – but insists “the problem is nobody has time anymore”.

Linfield legend Jeffrey made his return to Irish League management ahead of the current campaign after Niall Currie’s departure.

The Shamrock Park outfit have endured a tough start, losing their opening four Premiership matches before suffering a Mid Ulster Cup defeat to rivals Glenavon on Tuesday night.

Only bottom side Bangor (nine) have conceded more league goals than the Ports (eight) at this very early stage with Jeffrey’s men one of three teams yet to collect a point – they’ll be hoping that changes at Cliftonville on Saturday.

placeholder image — Portadown manager David Jeffrey. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

Tipton worked under Jeffrey during his time at Linfield and also spent four years in charge of Portadown between 2018 and 2022, guiding them to the Championship title in 2020.

The 46-year-old believes Jeffrey is the perfect person to lead Portadown forward and will transform their fortunes in time – but knows that’s not something which is often afforded in modern football.

"Things take time in football – the problem is nobody has time anymore,” said Tipton. “Davy is trying to implement his own style of play on the team, on the club, that'll take time.

"I've no doubt it'll turn around soon, to be honest.

"The problem is time's given to nobody, but I just know Davy will turn that around quite quickly.

"He knows what it's all about, he'll know how to turn the team around – there's no doubt about that in my mind.

"He just needs a little bit of luck and a little bit of time.

"They're missing chances you'd expect them to score and then they're making mistakes at the back that are getting punished every single time.

"One week, that's not going to happen, and with a bit of luck, he'll turn it around...hopefully for Davy and the team, that's Saturday at Cliftonville.

"When you're trying to drum these messages in, when you lose, it's hard for the messages to be reinforced.

"You need that result to reinforce that message, and once that happens, it's easier to keep building on what you're telling them.

"So, by hook or by crook, you've got to get that result over the line.”

Portadown looked beyond the Irish League for most of their summer signings with Liam Jessop, Rhys Breen, Mikey Hewitt, Jamie Barry, Matty Carson, Dominic Martins and Finn Flangan joining from clubs outside of Northern Ireland.

It’s a route Premiership clubs are increasingly taking due to financial demands at home – Crusaders are arguably the best example of success having unearthed Scottish duo Fraser Bryden and Adam Brooks, who both made six-figure summer moves, and now Owen Wardell.

"Of course (it takes players time to settle into a new league),” added Tipton. “I did it previously when I was manager.

"You feel like you're getting more value for money outside of the Irish League because boys may be coming over to rebuild their career.

"Crusaders are doing it and they're reaping the rewards, they’ve had a brilliant start to the season.

"Your name doesn't get you anything in football, it's what you do on a Saturday...being a big-name team or club doesn't guarantee anything. It's really competitive this year, as it has been for the last few years.”