James Singleton accepts Glentoran's players owe their manager a big performance against Linfield on Friday night.
The Glens are on the rebound after last week's 2-0 defeat to Portadown at the Oval. It was the latest depressing result for Declan Devine's side in what has been a rollercoaster season on Mersey Street.
The East Belfast club currently sit seventh in the standings, 11 points behind Linfield and having played a game more.
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Singleton said: “There’s no better way to get back into the mix. We did well against Linfield earlier in the season with a really good second half performance and we will need more of the same on Friday.
“We owe the manager, coaches and fans a performance after last week’s defeat to Portadown. It was a really disappointing performance - we didn't deserve anything from the game and we let the manager down.
“We need to put in a big performance and if we do we can match anyone in the league. Linfield are in good form but in this rivalry, form goes out the window and it’s a big game for us to get back on track.”
Glentoran do have some grounds for optimism heading into Friday's clash. They beat Linfield 3-1 last month following a second half comeback at Windsor Park.
Singleton believes the players should glean positives from that performance, especially their display after the break when they scored three goals to seal their win.
“As a team in the second half we pressed well after showing them too much respect in the first half. Deccy told us to have a go and we had nothing to lose. Linfield got nervous and once we equalised we took advantage of the situation," he added.
“Deccy drills into us every week about giving 100 per cent but that is the bare minimum. We certainly need to score more goals, with either bad luck or poor finishing we have missed a few penalties and other chances.
“It's something we are working on across the pitch. We have been relatively solid apart from the Portadown game and clean sheets are vital.”
Singleton believes fine margins have derailed Glentoran's progress this season, including a number of missed penalties which have cost the side important results - and momentum.
“There’s been a bit of bad luck but I can remember beating Linfield 4-0 at The Oval last year and every team is struggling for consistency. We will give it our all to get the three points on Friday," he said.
“After the win at Windor Park we had a great win at Dungannon and knocked Carrick out of the County Antrim Shield. There was three wins on the bounce but we missed a penalty in the game against Carrick to win that one.
“Performance levels have been high, even in the Larne game we lost with a penalty which was probably never a penalty.
“Last week was a disappointment but this is a massive game and the players will be ready for it - we are more than capable of winning it.”
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