Every minute counts for Coleraine’s Oran Kearney on path to progress

With an Irish League landscape altered by significant investment allowing some rival clubs to move towards a full-time model, Kearney’s Coleraine continue to prove competitive without those same advantages of extra opportunities together.

However, an assured and emphatic 3-0 victory over promoted Portadown on Saturday signalled a step towards what Kearney considers the real Coleraine in the aftermath of the Bannsiders’ ‘European hangover’ at domestic level confirmed by defeat to Ballymena United over the opening Danske Bank Premiership test.

“We had gone through the summer in alien territory in some ways as we’d been in Europe before but hadn’t had the same glory or gone the distance,” said Kearney, who steered his side across three Europa League ties into the second qualifying round. “Players are human and we really struggled since that, even over the two or three friendlies before the Ballymena game, with lethargic and poor performances.

“We were better against Ballymena than in those friendlies and trained a lot better so looked like coming out the other side.

“But our finishing let us down against Ballymena but this week we looked more like what I would consider normal.

“I’ve had contact time with our boys this week of maybe six-and-a-half hours and that’s including the game against Portadown.

“Other teams now are getting 15, 20 or 25 hours in a week, so it’s a challenge but it’s one we are keen to take on.

“Training was really, really good and as much as you look at 3-0 on paper, what I observed looking on as manager was even more pleasing and makes me feel we are now out the other side of that European hangover.

“Before the season even started I said to our boys this could be the toughest fixture of our first few games.

“I don’t like facing a newly-promoted team until maybe eight or 10 games in after that honeymoon period.

“Plus today as well it was Portadown’s first home game in the Premiership in three years and everything else, so that’s why I was particularly pleased with our first 15 or 20 minutes.

“We put so much effort into making sure we were solid, not even so much to get a goal or go ahead but to get that foothold in the match.

“We were really dominant from the very first whistle, we pride ourselves on our fitness levels and energy needed to set traps, so today was us back up around the level we need.”

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