Stephen Robinson reveals his utmost respect for Oran Kearney

Robinson is full of admiration for his opposite number Oran Kearney, and their excellent win over NK Maribor has enhanced his respect for his close friend.

“I know Oran well, I have been in Scotland with him, we used to travel back and forward together,” he said.

“Oran seems to fit here at Coleraine when he left and went to St Mirren Coleraine struggled a little bit and then since he’s come back they’ve kicked on and did really well.

“I have a lot of respect for him and for what he has done for Coleraine and we certainly won’t be underestimating the task ahead.

“It will be a tough game we never underestimated Glentoran either as they had a lot of players that I worked with.

“We are well aware of the threats Coleraine has some experienced boys that have been there and done it and been around the block.

“They will have good game knowledge so we will have to be very much up for it and we will have to take our game to Coleraine.

“We will be favourites to win the game and we will have a lot of the ball but we will need to have an end product.

“Against Glentoran the lesson was that we had to be patient we had boys running themselves into the ground and they were disciplined and organised.

“It might not be the first fifteen minutes that you win the game you will need to show a lot of patience and persevere with our beliefs.”

Well keeper and Northern Ireland international Trevor Carson knows they can’t afford to be off it with the tie settled over one leg now.

“The two legs give teams a chance to suss each other out but we don’t have that opportunity,” he said.

“That means we have to be even more focused and we are prepared for extra-time and penalties if required.

“We have come with a game plan and we know what we have to do to win.

“We want to get back on the plane after the game and looking forward to the next round.”

Bannsiders boss Kearney believes the change from two legs to one has opened up an opportunity for his side.

“I think with it being one game now is a big swing for us and I’ve no problem in saying that,” he said.

“We could easily have gone to Maribor and drawn 1-1 out there and come back here and got beat maybe two or three whenever it refocuses them.

“The one-legged nature and the win at all costs, everything up for grabs nature of the game, very much suits the underdogs or the unseeded team.

“It helped us in Maribor. We all know the unpredictable nature of football - it can take one challenge, one decision, and the game’s flipped on its head

“For us - number one we need the performance and number two, we’ll need little things like that to drop our way.

“I sound like a broken record - the big demands we’re making of everyone this week is that they go and hit the same performance level - in concentration and attitude and work-rate - that we got in Maribor.

“We’re looking for that - if we get that then anything can happen.”

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