Portadown manager Niall Currie has called for “cool heads” after his side lost their fourth consecutive match across competitions with a 2-1 Mid-Ulster Cup defeat to rivals Glenavon and will draw on his vast experience to turn the situation around.

The Ports dropped to 10th following a dramatic last-gasp Premiership loss to the Lurgan Blues at Mourneview Park on Saturday and were eliminated by the same opposition three days later at the same venue, but Currie’s men remain just two points adrift of a top-half league position and prior to last month’s defeat to leaders Ballymena United had put together a six-game unbeaten run.

They’ve since exited the BetMcLean Cup and Mid-Ulster Cup – competitions which they reached the final of and won last term respectively – and Currie insists it’s no time to panic ahead of Saturday’s clash with neighbours Loughgall.

Captain Gary Thompson has missed the last three matches due to a cut sustained in the early stages of the narrow defeat to former club Ballymena while fellow midfielder Eoghan McCawl was also absent for Portadown’s last three outings.

placeholder image — Portadown manager Niall Currie during Tuesday's Mid-Ulster Cup defeat to Glenavon. (Photo by Alan Weir/Pacemaker)

When asked for an update on the pair ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Currie admits McCawl won’t be available and Thompson is also a doubt.

"Eowesy definitely not, he'll not make it,” he told the club’s media channel. “Gary would be no more than 50/50 at the minute.

"This is football and why we have squads so it's up to people to stand in and stand up. We haven't them pencilled in, but we'll see. We all understand it's a big one on Saturday.

"People have to stay cool...I'd say everyone has to have cool heads at the minute. I know there's maybe a panic or crisis going on but we need to make sure we have reality with us as well.

"If we win on Saturday and win against Dungannon Swifts (the following weekend) you're still in a good situation. On Saturday we were sitting fourth or fifth in the league at half-time.

"For all the crisis we're going through at the minute we're one point behind Glenavon and a couple of others with a game in hand, so I think everyone should stay cool. We've been down this road many times and we'll sort it out."

Currie also reserved special praise for summer signing Shay McCartan, who has started every Premiership match since arriving from Glentoran, and feels the ex-Accrington Stanley ace was “a real standout” against Glenavon on Tuesday.

"Shay McCartan covered every blade of grass and was a real standout for us, as he was on Saturday,” added Currie. “We just need to get him a goal to get him firing because he has the assists and we need to get him firing with the goals.

"He's a talented boy and is working his socks off for this club and for us. His work rate was sensational and him and Ahu (Obhakhan) were a real handful for them, but unfortunately we didn't have enough tonight in regards to keeping the ball out of the net."