Stephen McDonnell hails 'phenomenal' Glenavon ace after playing key role in Cliftonville clean sheet
Glenavon manager Stephen McDonnell hailed “phenomenal” James Carroll after he shouldered the responsibility of marshalling the Lurgan Blues to another clean sheet following Saturday’s Solitude stalemate against Cliftonville.
With Barney McKeown – likely Glenavon’s Player of the Season so far after joining from Newry City this summer – club captain Mark Haughey and Calum Birney all missing, Carroll took on senior status with aplomb, making several crucial interceptions, including in the dying moments when it looked like Jonny Addis was going to head home a Reds winner from close range.
The 24-year-old was playing in a back-three alongside David Toure (19) and Len O’Sullivan (20), who both are normally deployed at wing-back, and the trio all impressed – especially when their task got that much harder in the second half following Rhys Marshall’s sending off.
McDonnell’s men have now collected clean sheets against Coleraine, Crusaders, Larne, Glentoran and Cliftonville – all of whom finished in the Premiership’s top-six last term – and the Glenavon chief hopes another positive showing will only further help boost belief.
"Cliftonville, Larne, Crusaders, Glentoran – we’re building something here,” he said. “We’ve signed good players, good defenders and I think that was on show today.
“We’re arguably missing one of our best players of the season to date in Barney McKeown, but I’m delighted at the same time because it highlights James Carroll and how good he has been.
"In football there’s always someone who takes the plaudits but James has been phenomenal also. The two young players who are traditionally full-backs playing either side of him were superb.
"They’re young, athletic, can run, can play, defend – that’s what they are and it’s important they know what they’re good at because when they do it they’re a tough nut to crack.
"It makes our team much stronger and then we had experience on the sides with Quinny (Niall Quinn) and Rhys. Overall, collectively as the whole unit, it was a really good performance.”
Despite the positive point, Glenavon still sit 10th in the Premiership table with no team scoring fewer than their 10, but McDonnell is confident there’s much more to come from his side.
"I back this group of players,” he added. “We haven’t even got our second wind yet as a group.
"I get to see this on the training pitch and I think there’s a lot more to come, which is the challenge for the group because you can never be happy or content.
"We’re in the process and sometimes people don’t enjoy the process, they want the end goal of competing for league titles or whatever it may be, but for me this is the most enjoyable period when recruitment is good and you start to see it.
"I feel for this group seeing is believing and them seeing that performance and being part of it will help them believe. The proof is in the pudding.
"We’ve went to multiple big venues away from home and kept clean sheets. We have to be pleased with that. I don’t think many teams will fancy playing us if truth be told and that’s the way we want it.”