Glenavon talisman hoping to put 'frustrating' period behind him after scoring first Premiership goal of the season

Since arriving at Mourneview Park from Loughgall in 2020, Campbell has been considered amongst the Lurgan Blues’ standout players, scoring 13 league goals during the 2021/22 campaign and provided 10 goal contributions last term (four goals, six assists), but struggled in the early stages of the current campaign.

The 27-year-old produced his best performance of the season so far on Tuesday evening, providing the assist for Michael O’Connor’s equaliser before firing Glenavon into the lead by tapping home Chris Atherton’s pass from close range.

An in-form Campbell will only help the County Armagh outfit climb the table – they currently sit 11th, six points clear of bottom side Loughgall and level with Carrick Rangers – and he’s hoping to hit similar heights in the coming weeks.

"It has been frustrating so it has and my head has been away...my partner at home has been listening to it enough!" he told Glenavon Media. “Thankfully I've got off the mark now and hopefully I can push on now and get more.

"I don't know (why it has taken me 19 matches), if I knew the answer then it would fix it. Maybe I just wasn't getting into positions or taking my chances but I've taken one now and I'm enjoying football at the moment."

There have been signs of early progression under new manager Paddy McLaughlin, who has introduced an extra night of training per week, going from two sessions to three, with a dramatic 3-3 draw against Coleraine followed up by collecting his maiden win.

Having arrived with Glenavon holding the worst top-flight goalscoring record, 11 in 17 matches, they’ve now scored six in their last two outings and Campbell wants to continue giving the Mourneview Park faithful something to cheer about.

"If you were watching the Crusaders match you'd see the energy and enthusiasm the boys had and the will to work for each other,” he added. “Boys were chasing things down that they maybe wouldn't have chased before and it just feels like the group is together.

"It was exciting for the fans when we were attacking and it gets the fans off their seats. They want to see hard work and goals and we provided that against Crusaders.

"He (McLaughlin) has came in and training is very intense. We're training three nights a week so it's getting our fitness up and getting us together more. That has improved us.

"We look fit and a lot of us feel fitter than we were before. He has got everyone lifted, gave everyone confidence and that's what we needed. We don't want to be where we are at the moment so hopefully we can kick on and this is only the start."

Glenavon now face a weekend trip to league leaders Linfield before hosting rivals Portadown on Boxing Day.

"As Sean Ward used to say, you can never be too high or too low,” said Campbell. “You enjoy the result and then put it behind you and get ready for Saturday.

"You have to go with a bit of belief that you can get a result because there's no point going thinking you can't get anything. You can get a result off any team in this league as other teams have shown so hopefully we can get something."