Portadown coach John McAllister makes promise to fans as they look to survive the Danske Bank Premiership drop

Currie was appointed Ports boss for a second time in October after spending a year at Dundela with McAllister joining him at the County Armagh outfit.

Their first game in charge ended with a 4-0 defeat to Coleraine at the Showgrounds, but it was the reaction of supporters at full-time that still sticks with McAllister.

"(The fans are) absolutely massive,” he told PortsTV.

“You know what struck a chord with me? We were beaten 4-0 in our first game away at Coleraine and there was maybe 150-200 Portadown fans that clapped us off and I thought 'This is a good place to be'.

"That has resonated with me and I know it has with Niall. We always make sure the supporters know how much we appreciate it.

"At home is a different ball game when you have that level of support and we're going to need every supporter between now and the end of the season and we'll give it our absolute all and that's the promise we make to them.

"If you pay at the gate and take your seat, you'll see a full-blooded, whole-hearted team that gives you everything.

"Nobody can guarantee a result but as Niall Currie says we'll guarantee a performance and at the very worst we will be very honest."

McAllister also praised the character shown by Portadown’s players on Friday evening in their 3-1 win over Dungannon and believes the result could have been very different earlier in the season.

"We've experienced since we've came in that we've played 'halves' as I would say,” he added. “We've looked very good in a first-half then in the second-half it's a very different performance. Niall's conscious of that because he knows what he's doing.

"He's reminding the players that the job is never over and when you put in that level of effort in terms of pressing, counter-attacks, the way you build up, bodies flowing into the box and 60-70 yard sprints for 40 minutes, sometimes it takes a bit out of the legs and a team gets a foothold in a game and maybe get that chance or goal that changes everything.

"I have to praise their immense character. We conceded the goal and maybe if we had looked at this squad at the start of the season or 10 games in, that might have ended up three or four. You can see the belief.

"People like Mark Russell, Stephen Teggart, Alberto Balde, Barney (McKeown) - guys that have been here from the start - those guys have been honest since the day we came in and I'm just so grateful and happy for them because they've had a lot of tough days. The supporters deserve it as well."