Ballymena United’s Ervin Aims to Maintain ‘Great Strides’

Ballymena United currently holds the sixth position in the Irish Premiership standings. Manager Jim Ervin stated that his team must accord Carrick Rangers “the respect they deserve” following their improved performance under new manager Stephen Baxter. Carrick Rangers have experienced only two defeats in the seven matches since Baxter took charge, leading Ervin to believe they are a significantly different squad compared to the one Ballymena, known as the Sky Blues, defeated 4-1 in September. Ervin remarked, “We will look at the positives from that game but the Carrick team since Stephen has come in will be a different challenge completely.” He further added, “They have had some really good results and positive performances, so we need to give them the respect they deserve and we need to make sure we’re on it.” Ballymena has experienced what Ervin characterized as an “indifferent” start to the current season. The team initially lost their first four fixtures before achieving a run of eight consecutive victories, which propelled them up the league table. Subsequently, they endured four consecutive losses, but secured a 1-0 victory against Cliftonville at Solitude in their most recent league fixture two weeks prior. Their scheduled game last weekend against Larne was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Ervin expressed satisfaction with the advancements his squad has made and is resolute that they sustain the positive momentum generated by their win against Cliftonville, also known as the Reds. Ervin commented, “We did everything we could to get the game on last week but with the weather unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.” He continued, “It was disappointing because when you win games of football you just want the next one to come along but we’ve had a good week of training.” Ervin concluded by stating, “We’re one point of our total points tally of last year, so we’ve made great strides, but we’re not getting carried away.”