Injuries and red cards may stand as factors beyond Glenavon’s control behind a start to the Irish League season now six games without a point but assistant manager Colin Coates has also highlighted frustration at defensive frailties.

The double dismissal last weekend of Harry Murphy and Barney McKeown, alongside the early loss of Kyle McClelland to injury, served to increase issues at the back for the Lurgan Blues now rooted to the bottom of the top-flight table.

Coates, a former highly-decorated centre-back, is calling for a “back to basics” approach moving forward in a bid to stop the rot – starting today away to Larne.

"We're coughing up far too many cheap goals," said Coates last weekend. "For the players we have it's hard to legislate the way they're defending at the minute.

placeholder image — Harry Murphy following his red card during Glenavon's defeat by Dungannon Swifts at Mourneview Park. (Photo by Alan Weir/Pacemaker Press)

"There's no point me sugar-coating it or making excuses...the goals we have given away are not good enough.

"It's schoolboy defending and we need to work out solutions...whether that's personnel or formations or whatever it is, we need to work out ways to eradicate those goals because at the minute it's absolutely killing us.

"There's no doubt about it that confidence is low at the minute but we've got a good group of players."

Adjustments in response to last week’s enforced reshuffle left Kris Lowe and Niall Quinn operating as an emergency defensive pairing, with Coates commenting how “sometimes in football you end up landing on things” and, overall, how "we need to go back to basics, strip it back a wee bit and be more resolute”.