Preview

Institute manager Kevin Deery will be warning his players to be on their guard when they take on bottom side Annagh United, this Saturday (KO 2pm).
Institutes Michael McCrudden is closed down by Ballyclare Comrades right-back Curtis Woods during last Saturdays game. DER4816GS086Institutes Michael McCrudden is closed down by Ballyclare Comrades right-back Curtis Woods during last Saturdays game. DER4816GS086
Institutes Michael McCrudden is closed down by Ballyclare Comrades right-back Curtis Woods during last Saturdays game. DER4816GS086

United have only won twice this campaign and have conceded a massive 67 goals, nevertheless Deery isn’t taking anything for granted against the Portadown men.

“Look we don’t want to be complacent, but I keep using this phrase and I’m sort of getting repetitive, but it’s exact same three points as you get beating Annagh, as you would if you beat anyone else, it’s three points and they are all vital,” he said.

“That message alone when you tell the players that and they really listen, then you have to go and try to get them and that’s what we’ll be looking to do at Annagh.”

Deery also concedes that training this week will tailor to the fact that he expects his side to have a lot of possession at Tandragee Road.

“Look we’ll replica that at training this week, we’ll replica a team sitting in and then we’ll be expecting our technical players to be able to come up with good decision making and create chances,” he added.

“To be honest it’s a joy to have the football, if you ask any footballer about running after the ball when you don’t have it is a nightmare, even when I was playing myself I hated it, I always wanted to have the ball.

“I think loads of people will shape up to play that way, so that’s what we’ll do if Annagh wants to sit off us, I’ll tell my players to be really confident and get on the ball.

“Look if that’s Annagh’s game we’ll be able to cut them open at some stage, but they just appointed a new manager recently (Gary Duke), so they will be a different team than the one we played earlier in the season and there’s no easy games in our league.”

The Stute gaffer also praised both sets of players’ fitness after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Ballyclare Comrades.

“I thought Saturday’s game was a testament to both teams and if you had have gone and watched that in the Premier League, some of the teams might not have showed those fitness levels, which both teams did,” he added

“So that’s fair dues to both my players and Ballyclare players; but I just feel now that we can maybe get better and stronger in the month of December and a run of fixtures where we can pick up points,

“Weather permitting you know what your schedule is and we set a wee target of ourselves.

“In fact, if we had have got three points against Ballyclare, that would have set us up nicely but you don’t want to get beat in those big games so we go again and hopefully now we can get close to our original target of nine points from our next three games.”

One man who starts training with his new team-mates this week is recent signing Sammy Morrow and Deery believes his experience is actually what the youthful Stute squad needs and that’s exactly what he told chairman Bill Anderson.

“Sammy starts training this week with the boys and he’s a great signing for us,” he added.

“He’ll tell you himself that he hasn’t played enough games and he’ll probably need to get a wee bit of work done and he knows that himself.

“Saturday’s game against Ballyclare was ferocious and had a high tempo to it, as both teams had a go, but I felt a wee bit of guile from an experience player could have killed it at times and Sammy is that type of player.

“Having spoken to Bill I told him that we probably need a wee bit experience and know how to get us extra points and that’s hopefully what Sammy will bring to the table for us.”

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