Stephen McDonnell looking to put dent in Premiership title hopes of 'second father' as Glenavon aim to achieve their own goals

McDonnell worked with Magilton at the Irish FA and was then appointed as Academy Manager at League of Ireland outfit Dundalk by the ex-Northern Ireland international when he took up his Sporting Director role at Oriel Park in 2021.

The pair will be in opposite corners today and both harbour lofty ambitions for the remaining months of this campaign with Magilton looking to deliver Premiership success in a thrilling race against Larne and Linfield while McDonnell is targeting a top-half finish – something which didn’t look on the cards when the 31-year-old took over in late-September.

Glenavon handed David Healy’s Blues a minor setback last weekend by striking in the 96th minute to salvage a point and ex-Warrenpoint Town chief McDonnell is looking to do the same again.

"I used to drive up the road with Jim, he's like my second father!” he laughed. "He's done an unbelievable job to be right up there.

"It's a three-horse race with 10 games to go...I'm managing in the league and I'm really excited to see how that pans out.

"Obviously I know Jim and Gerard (Lyttle, assistant manager) really well and they're doing an incredible job. We will be going to try and spoil the party because that's the business end of the industry we're in.

"We have our own aims and objectives of what we want to achieve with this crop of players. We'll go there with confidence like we did at Larne and at home against Linfield.

“You obviously have to pay your utmost respect to the top outfits because that's where you aspire to be. That's the ambition we all share in that dressing room at this moment."

Four of Glenavon’s six remaining fixtures prior to the split come against current top-half opposition with today’s clash followed by a trip to Crusaders before hosting Glentoran and travelling to Larne.

Rather than have any sense of trepidation about taking on the league’s biggest teams, McDonnell is embracing the challenge and wants to breathe new life back into the Lurgan Blues.

"I remember speaking a few weeks ago about our huge ambitions to break the top-six because we want to have another rattle against Linfield and have another go at these big teams,” he added. "That's the only way you can judge where you're going when you play against the best.

"Ultimately you still have to take care of the teams around you and be professional and everything else.

"This is a huge football club though, and it's probably been asleep for a few years, but we want to get the energy back into the team and the terraces and ultimately be successful. Nobody wants to just plod along.

"As far as I'm concerned we've had a really excellent transfer window and we've already started to look ahead to next season because you're always looking to go a step further.

"We're so close to the top-six so why not go and have a rattle?"