Rodney McAree looking Dungannon Swifts to bounce back quickly in 'crazy league'
Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree admits it’s important his side bounce back quickly from Saturday’s defeat to Loughgall as they look to maintain their strong position in “a crazy league”.
McAree’s men were undefeated at Stangmore Park this season heading into a weekend clash with their Mid-Ulster rivals – a run which has laid the platform for the County Tyrone outfit’s surge into third spot – but lost 3-1 against the Premiership’s bottom team as Ryan Waide’s brace and a Robbie Norton strike ended the Villagers’ 12-game winless streak.
In what has been an unpredictable top-flight campaign so far, last weekend continued in a similar trend with all of the top four losing as Linfield were defeated by Cliftonville at Windsor Park, Ballymena United suffered a second consecutive league loss against Crusaders thanks to Kieran Offord’s magical overhead kick and Matthew Shevlin’s brace ensured Coleraine completed a comeback win over Glentoran at the Showgrounds.
Less than 24 hours later, defending champions Larne were then beaten 2-1 by Portadown as Shay McCartan’s long-range screamer secured a 2-1 win for Niall Currie’s side in County Armagh and handed the Inver Reds a third league loss of the term, which is already more than in the entirety of 2023/24 as they continue to adjust to balancing European exploits with domestic duties.
Results like the above mean a consistent run could open the door of opportunity for a number of teams and McAree wants his side to recover from Saturday’s setback quickly.
"People look at the league this season as being a crazy league, and it is a crazy league at this moment in time,” he said. “You look at Ballymena getting beat on Saturday, Linfield getting beat by Cliftonville, everything has probably closed in around us.
"It's nice to have the points we have so far and we've to take the positives from that, but we know that our performance against Loughgall wasn't good enough and we've to get back to those levels.
"We have to try and get back on the horse as quickly as we possibly can. We'd a poor performance at Glentoran a couple of weeks ago and we responded well at home to Portadown. We have to respond again."