Paul McElroy hoping first senior hat-trick can help give Portadown a "fighting chance" against Danske Bank Premiership relegation

​McElroy netted a treble against his former club to secure a second consecutive league win while Niall Currie’s men have now picked up seven points from their last four games.

At the start of this month, survival from relegation looked like mission impossible for the County Armagh team, who sat bottom of the pile with a measly five points.

They remain at the foot of the table, but things are looking much more positive with the gap to 11th-placed Dungannon now eight points while they also have a game in hand on their nearest competition.

On-loan from Ballymena United, McElroy showed what he can offer to their safety bid and feels the whole group have now gelled together.

"When I came in I think we played five of the top six and it's very hard,” he told WeArePortsTV. “There are new players coming in and we hadn't played together before and we were gelling in.

"After those four or five games and we got to work on the training pitch we have started to learn about each other, learn each other's games and it's all coming together at the right time.

"We have to keep believing in what we are doing, get as many points as possible and see where that takes us."

Their next two matches are against fellow bottom-six opposition with Saturday’s home clash versus Carrick Rangers followed by a trip to Newry City.

Getting results from those fixtures would instil yet further belief and it’s crucial that the likes of McElroy continue to fire.

"The situation we're in we need to take every game as it comes,” he added. “You never look past the next game - you focus on it.

"We're coming up against a good Carrick Rangers side who are competing for seventh this year.

"Stuart King has them well-drilled and you have to respect them for what they are doing and it's going to be a battle.

"We will keep working hard on the training pitch, fight for every point we can get and see where it takes us. Hopefully that gives us a fighting chance."