Young Irish League winger repaying manager's faith after hitting purple patch at the right time

Heading into the split, Newry had only won one of their previous 16 games in all competitions and were locked in a relegation battle with Dungannon Swifts and Portadown.

Fast forward a week later and things are looking up for Darren Mullen’s men with consecutive victories over Carrick Rangers (2-0) and Portadown (1-0) bringing them five points clear of 11th-placed Swifts with three fixtures to go – including Saturday’s visit of Glenavon.

Teelan scored all of those goals to bring his personal tally to eight in his first full Premiership campaign, where he has played a role in 33 matches following on from hitting double figures to help Newry seal promotion last season.

This purple patch comes off the back of only starting in one of the last seven and he was desperate to show what he’s capable of to repay the faith shown in him by boss Mullen.

"Darren has been really good,” he said. “He has given me the game time that I've needed to show myself and get the goals that I know I can get.

"He has given me the platform to do it so that has been great. Darren has been great in giving me opportunities to do what I know I can do in the league.

"I wasn't getting the game time I was looking for over the past couple of months so when I got that chance I knew I had to take it and thankfully I did.

"It's a test. You can go on the pitch and start sulking or go on to prove a point and I'm always the one that wants to go on and prove that I should be playing every week.

"I came into the league with a set target and I'm close to it now, so I'm happy with the amount of goals I've got but I'm looking to get a few more!

"Coming into the split we were getting good performances but not scoring. Me personally I'm always looking to score in every game but scoring in the past couple of games, very important games, is a really good feeling."

Teelan is part of an impressive group of Newry youngsters that have shown signs of their potential this season, which also includes the likes of Donal Scullion (18), Brian Healy (18) and John McGovern (20).

Northern Ireland youth international McGovern – born on the same day as teammate Teelan – had been a particular bright spark before picking up an injury against Carrick, scoring in February’s win over Glenavon and a devastating late defeat to Portadown last month.

Recent success has helped put Newry’s destiny firmly in their own hands but former Portadown and Dungannon man Teelan isn’t taking anything for granted.

"John is a great player,” he added. “We're going to miss him for the next few matches but it's always good to play with boys your own age.

"The split has been good for us with two wins from two but I don't think the pressure is off fully yet. We're not fully safe so we will definitely be going 100% into the next three games so we can cement our place in the Premiership next year."