Portadown 'kick on' challenge after derby 'kick in the teeth' for Niall Currie
Portadown boss Niall Currie has challenged his players to “kick on” from Saturday’s “kick in the teeth” in pursuit of the consistency he calls key to Premiership progress.
Currie felt “humiliated” standing on the sidelines watching the Ports slump to derby defeat by 3-0 against Glenavon last weekend on an afternoon which exposed a bigger issue beyond leaving the Mid-Ulster bragging rights in Lurgan.
Having produced back-to-back winning performances to see off Larne and Dungannon Swifts, Portadown lost ground with Mourneview Park misery.
Now Cliftonville on Wednesday come to Shamrock Park – the setting for those previous two Portadown wins – with Currie calling for a rapid return to form.
“As soon as we get two steps forward then there’s that kick in the teeth,” said Currie. “So we've got to get away from that...we've got to evolve from that and get three wins in a row.
“We haven't had three wins in a row.
“We'll get two wins in a row and then we'll have a terrible performance...it's happened two years, this is this league.
“The bottom line is if you're off it in any way...you're beat.
“We feel as if we can kick on...we're close.
“To be fair to the players, they've always been able to give a good response to things and give a good bounce back.
“So roll on Wednesday night.”
Currie highlighted his disappointment for the away supporters following such vocal backing in Lurgan – but also reaffirmed his faith in the players.
“These things happen...this is football, people have got to understand they're not robots either,” said Currie. “That's a huge disappointment whenever you see our supporters leaving the ground.
“I'm big on making sure that regardless, win, lose or draw a game of football, that you walk off the pitch empty.
“I wouldn't say it was a lack of effort...they were actionless, not brave enough in certain circumstances, I don't think we showed any composure when we had it.
“The bottom line is we're in the bottom six for a reason because we're good one week and good the next week and then we're flat.
“The top four teams are sitting in the top four for a reason...it’s about consistency.”