Warren Feeney: No effort will be spared to bring silverware and European qualification to Glentoran

The Glens, who have endured a mixed campaign, currently sit fourth in the table having won 11 and lost seven of their 23 league matches to date with their Boxing Day defeat to rivals Linfield ending a four-game unbeaten run.

They finished third last season under Rodney McAree and secured a Europa Conference League qualifying spot by beating Glenavon and Cliftonville in the play-offs.

With a gap of 17 points now opened up to league leaders Linfield and 16 to second-placed Larne, it’s likely The Oval outfit will need to secure European football in the same method this time around.

They face Larne in January’s County Antrim Shield final showdown and also get their Irish Cup campaign underway when Championship outfit Annagh United visit next weekend.

Feeney is determined to bring silverware back to the club and wants his side to respond from Tuesday’s defeat, where he says they “didn’t turn up”.

"I can guarantee each and every one of you that our focus on reaching the required standards of a Glentoran squad will continue and that no effort will be spared in our efforts to bring silverware and European qualification to the club by the end of the season,” Feeney told the club’s website ahead of this afternoon’s clash against Cliftonville. “I was very disappointed with our performance and the result on Boxing Day.

"Our supporters were there in great numbers and got well behind us and I thank them for that. But frankly we didn’t turn up and after a decent run of form we let ourselves down and didn’t run hard enough to get anything out of the game.

"But I won’t get down about it as we have another big one and a good chance to bounce back on Saturday.”

Cliftonville have been in superb recent form, putting together an unbeaten league run of eight matches, including a 2-1 Boxing Day triumph over North Belfast rivals Crusaders – their third consecutive victory over Stephen Baxter’s side.

Jim Magilton’s men statistically have the best defensive top-flight record, conceding 14 times in 23 games, while only Linfield (54) have scored more this season than the Reds’ tally of 53 with Ben Wilson contributing 17 of those.

However, they haven’t beaten Glentoran in their two previous meetings of this current campaign, losing out 1-0 at The Oval in September before drawing 2-2 at Solitude earlier this month, and Feeney is looking to cut the gap of 13 points on the side that sit one place above them.

"Saturday is very early to be playing teams for the third time in the league, but we’ve played Linfield twice this month and today it’s the same with Cliftonville,” he added. “I’ve said before the Reds are a very good, very adaptable team but we’ve beaten them and drawn with them this season in two very well contested games.

"We are still too far behind them in third place and we need to get that gap closed. Today is a good time to start. We can go into the game with confidence but we know it’s likely to be another hard fought one.”