Rodney McAree highlights 'big difference' in Dungannon Swifts' performances which needs to change
Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree insists his side have to get back to doing the things which laid the platform for last season’s historic success as they look to open their Premiership points account against Coleraine.
McAree’s men recorded the club’s joint-best league finish of fourth before going on to win their maiden Irish Cup crown by beating Cliftonville on penalties at Windsor Park.
That booked their European return for the first time since 2007 with the County Tyrone club recording a famous Conference League second round qualifying first-leg win over Vaduz in Liechtenstein earlier this summer.
They ultimately crashed out following extra-time defeat in the reverse fixture at Solitude, but the Swifts still banked a healthy financial windfall of £450,000 for their remarkable efforts.
Dungannon have began the new Premiership campaign by suffering consecutive losses to reigning champions Linfield and Portadown, who ran out 4-1 winners on Saturday with McAree’s side finishing the match with nine men following the dismissals of Gael Bigirimana and Leo Alves.
Both players will be absent for Tuesday’s trip to The Showgrounds, but McAree wants to see the same characteristics on display which helped give them a season to savour last term.
"It's our next opportunity,” said McAree. “It's going to be extremely tough because Coleraine have obviously spent a lot of money.
"That's the next challenge and we look forward to it.
"If we show the same desire we did with 10 men in the second half, week in, week out, if we can do that with 11 I think we'll be alright.
"We've only played two games so I don't know (if it’s more competitive this season), but it's the same league, it was a competitive league last year.
"What we did better last year than we have done so far is we competed better last year.
“We won duels last year, we won battles, we won second balls. In the first half (against Portadown) we hardly won a duel, we hardly won a tackle, we hardly won a second ball, and that's a big difference for us.”