Rodney McAree praises 'total commitment' shown by Dungannon Swifts star for undertaking 200-mile round-trip multiple times per week

The 29-year-old starred in last weekend’s Premiership victory over Loughgall – Dungannon’s second consecutive league triumph – and has helped the County Tyrone outfit find winning form in recent weeks with the Swifts running out victors in four of their last five matches across competitions.

Dillon is currently commuting from his home in Westmeath, meaning the former St Mirren man undertakes an almost 200-mile round-trip to Stangmore Park multiple times per week.

His impact has been obvious throughout the season and he’ll again have a key role to play if Dungannon are to maintain their momentum this afternoon when they host high-flying Cliftonville.

"Kealan Dillon is playing for Dungannon Swifts and driving from Westmeath,” said McAree. “I think it takes him two hours 40 minute to get to the club and then the same back home.

"That's total commitment. He never misses a session. His hamstring got a little bit tight towards the end (against Loughgall) but hopefully he will be alright because he has been a big player for us this season. He has been very good in most of the games and hopefully he will be alright."

Dungannon have already enjoyed success against today’s opponents this season, beating them 1-0 in the BetMcLean League Cup last month to set up a quarter-final clash with Newry City on Tuesday.

Larne loanee Matthew Lusty, who netted that decisive winner, also scored twice in last weekend’s victory as Dungannon opened up a five-point gap on Ballymena United and Newry in the Premiership survival race.

Only Linfield have picked up more points on the road this season to date than Cliftonville, but McAree says his side can enter the clash with confidence given recent results.

"If we hadn't have got these two wins back-to-back you'd be going into it a bit more fearful,” he added. “You maybe give yourself a wee bit of momentum that you can challenge yourself and go into the match seeing where that can take us."