Ferguson to ring changes for trip to Ballinamallard

The manager has lost patience with his under-performing players after Saturday’s home defeat by Warrenpoint and is set to wield the axe ahead of Friday night’s trip to Ballinamallard (8pm).

“Our squad is not that big that we can change a whole lot but it looks as though some changes will have to made to get some kind of response from some of the players.

“With the exception of Johnny Taylor - our stand-out player this season - anyone who is left out of the team couldn’t come and ask me why.

“We have players who can do it but at the minute a lot of them aren’t doing it and that makes a difference to results.

“There is only so much ‘arm around the shoulder’ you can do - the players now need to have broad shoulders and be able to take criticism on board and be able to get better for it.

“I’ve signed or re-signed all those players - I hope they don’t think that once they put pen to paper they can just relax and see out their contract. If they’re not going to give 100 per cent every week then some of them might be in for a rude awakening.

“Ballinamallard were beaten like ourselves at the weekend and they will be looking for a response,” added Ferguson.

One change will be forced upon the manager with skipper Allan Jenkins serving an additional one-game ban on top of the red card he received for ‘offensive, insulting or abusive language’ in the recent defeat at Linfield.

* A limited number of seats are available on a supporters’ bus for Friday night’s game, leaving the Smithfield Arms at 4.45pm sharp. Contact Davy McCaig on 07849 162945.