No relegation but player auditions in front of Portadown’s ‘harshest critic’

Internal pressure will remain as fierce as ever for Portadown’s players - despite the absence of external relegation fears.
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NIFL confirmation this week of a null-and-void ruling for the Irish League’s second-tier Championship season has, as a result, offered protection from the drop in the current senior Premiership campaign.

However, Ports boss Matthew Tipton is refusing to let standards drop within the Shamrock Park squad and maintains his players must still pass the most difficult test of all.

“The players will still be judged by the harshest critic of all...me,” said Tipton. “Every 90 minutes now stands as an audition for each player.

Portadown manager Matthew Tipton.Portadown manager Matthew Tipton.
Portadown manager Matthew Tipton.

“Nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned in terms of what I expect just because relegation is no longer a concern.

“A risk of relegation was never going to be in my mindset anyway and certainly not with 12 games played, so it’s irrelevant and in no way alters what I demand of my players.

“What does change, however, is the freedom for me now as manager to offer opportunities and use the rest of this season to focus completely on putting our training ground plans into practice in Premiership games.

“Personal pride alone dictates no-one wants to lose or finish bottom of the league no matter the stakes, so I’m expecting players to continue to put everything into performances.

“But now it’s about showing me they can deliver on what we want from a Portadown side within this unique situation.”

Portadown face trips to tackle high-flying Coleraine and Larne across the next batch of weekend and midweek fixtures, having lost on Tuesday by 3-0 to league leaders Linfield in the first Premiership match since the NIFL null-and-void declaration on both the Championship and Premier Intermediate League divisions.

“After losing to Warrenpoint and Linfield that’s now back-to-back defeats, which no-one is happy about,” said Tipton. “But in each game I’ve obviously seen positives and negatives.

“Results can often mask the truth, good or bad, of how a player is performing and meeting the demands of his role.

“Now players will be tested on how they can understand and execute my instructions and play how I want.

“They no longer have excuses in terms of the overall impact of losing points or extra worry about past results, for example, so instead it’s simple and about that understanding of our own objectives.

“Two seasons ago when we felt Larne were out of sight in the Championship we used games in the same way and that played a big part in our progress to get up last year as champions.

“We have players short of Premiership experience or even new to the Irish League and living in this country, so the chance to really focus on understanding how we want to play without certain outside concerns can only help for the future.

“It’s also a chance to give the under 20s more opportunities to see how they react in a senior game.

“We can chop and change the line-ups but stick to working within getting that one system exactly right.

“Incentives still remain for sure, everyone should understand exactly what we want and then it’s up to each player to meet that challenge.”

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