McLaughlin Notes “Very Good” Signs for Glenavon Despite Defeat

Paddy McLaughlin, the recently appointed Glenavon boss, whose team is positioned 11th in the Irish Premiership table, indicated that “a lot of hard work is to be done” subsequent to their 1-0 derby loss against Portadown. Ahu Obhakhan’s early goal secured the win for Portadown, extending the Lurgan Blues’ winless streak in the top flight to seven games. Nevertheless, McLaughlin expressed encouragement regarding his team’s performance during his inaugural league match at Shamrock Park. He conveyed to BBC Sport NI, “Disappointing result but it’s a very good performance for large periods, we controlled the game and we came up short in the final third.” He added, “That is something to work on but there are good signs there.” The ex-Cliftonville manager acknowledged a “frantic week” at the club, which followed his appointment last Saturday when he succeeded Stephen McDonnell at the helm. He also expressed confidence in his ability to improve the team’s fortunes at Mourneview Park, following their challenging start to the campaign. McLaughlin further stated, “I’m glad to be back it was a long time out travelling around and just watching games so it’s good to be back.” He continued, “That’s all the niceties out of the way, now we’re into work and there’s a lot of hard work to be done and we’re looking forward to getting stuck in.” McLaughlin concluded, “The signs are very good, if we can keep improving week by week, we can pick up points.”