Ryan Cooney: Glentoran need to follow up midweek gains by securing win against Dungannon Swifts
Ryan Cooney says it’s important Glentoran continue to keep the pressure on league leaders Larne as they host Irish Cup finalists Dungannon Swifts on Saturday afternoon.
The Glens cut the gap at the top of the Premiership table to three points on Tuesday night as their win at Cliftonville was coupled with Larne’s defeat to Coleraine.
With just three matches remaining, the race for the Gibson Cup is most certainly on and Cooney has challenged the Glens to keep going in their pursuit the Invermen.
"We've given ourselves a chance now following the results on Tuesday night, but we know we can't afford to take our foot off the gas now as there are only three games left," the full-back said.
"Saturday's game against Dungannon Swifts is now the most important game of the season for us as we know we need to pick up another three points.
"There's no point in us fighting hard to win in midweek if we don't follow it up with another win on Saturday.
"We can't control what happens to other teams but we can control what we do and that's all we have to focus on.
"If we take care of our own business then it puts us in a strong position if the teams around us slip up just as we did on Tuesday night.
"It won't be easy against Dungannon though, they are a good side and they will be full of confidence after reaching the Irish Cup final again.
"That's the way it is going to be for us between now and the end of the season. These are three cup finals for us and we have to aim at coming out of them with three wins. That's all we can ask for and we'll see where that takes us."
Cooney says a high confidence within the Glentoran ranks will hopefully stand them in good stead ahead of the final league games.
He added: “I think when you come off the back of a positive result and you can see it has made a difference then the mood is obviously going to be high.
"We all came off the pitch on Tuesday night buzzing to have picked up the win and then when we heard the other results it just lifted us even higher.
"But that's gone now and we can't afford to rest on our laurels, we have to go again and keep that pressure on.#
"The fans came out in force again on Tuesday night and I know it will be the same in these last three games.
"We have two big home games against Dungannon Swifts and Larne up next and the supporters can really make their presence felt in those matches.
"They can really help us get over the line in these last few games just as they have done throughout the whole season.
"We are in this together and their support makes a massive difference to us on the pitch.
"We want as many as possible to get out to these games as they really can be our 12th man."