I don't believe in hoodoos, says Oran Kearney as Coleraine aim to record first win against Glenavon since March 2020

You have to go back to March 2020 for the Bannsiders' last win against Glenavon - with the Lurgan Blues unbeaten in the nine matches since.Kearney stated that whilst he doesn't believe in "hoodoos", he simply wants his team to pick up more points against Glenavon than they did last season.

"I read into everything and I keep numbers and stats on everything," he said.

"One of the things, and I've said it before where, I always look every year as to how we do against every team.

"Last year I think we had one point out of nine against Glenavon which ideally we want to improve on.

"That's the target and if you can every year improve on your set of three or four results against teams you've played in the previous season, then it'll leave you in a better place.

"For me, my big focus is not about hoodoos or anything like that, we underperformed or didn't get the results against Glenavon last year and we've got to find a way of doing that starting this afternoon."

Both teams required extra-time to come through BetMcLean League Cup assignments on Tuesday night as Coleraine edged out Bangor, whilst Glenavon came from behind to stun Dergview with a late rally.

A lot has changed since the two teams last met, most notably in the dugout, as Stephen McDonnell replaced long-serving Gary Hamilton in the Glenavon hot seat late last month.

With that in mind, Kearney knows that today's hosts will have to be prepared for "a bounce" from Glenavon, who aim to pick up points to avoid being involved in a relegation dogfight.

He added: "It's going to be tough.

"I think with obviously what sadly happened with Gary Hamilton and the way things have gone, it brings in a new mindset and a new bounce with a new manager coming in.

"By all accounts, in the first half an hour against Larne they were really good.

"Obviously, getting a red card against any opposition makes it tough, but against a team like Larne compounds it even more.

"Like ourselves, they had a tough enough shift midweek against Dergview and we know going into it that both teams have played 120 minutes and it's about making sure we're up and at it and get a performance on the day."

After suffering heavy defeats to Cliftonville and Crusaders in their last two Premiership contests, Kearney credited his players for ultimately getting the job done against a spirited Bangor side which set up a second round tie against Ballymena United next month.

"I think it takes character the way we won the game,” he continued.

“Probably just with where we're at or how the week has been am I surprised? No, not one bit.

“I always say to players on night like this, we have a good history in this competition, there's always shocks on nights like tonight and don't be us.

“People who will dictate that are us and I’m not being disrespectful to Bangor.

“To be fair to our guys we weren't going to take no for an answer.”