Losing not an option for the Blues

The Blues could potentially be six points adrift at the foot of the table, should they be defeated by Tommy Wright’s men and so they simply must not come away from Ballyskeagh empty handed.

It’s been a struggle for Marty Quinn’s side so far this season as they’ve claimed just one point from six matches and the boss is “desperate” for that run of form to come to an end as soon as possible as they look to claw themselves from the foot of the Carling Premiership table.

“We’re desperate to get that first win that will restore some confidence and we’ll go to Distillery on Saturday to do that,” he said.

“We’re getting a lot of publicity as the only team in the division not to have got a win and the longer it goes on the harder it will get. We’re not in a great position at the minute but I’ve still got confidence and belief in the players.

“We’ve got to get something out of the game on Saturday though. Not getting beaten is of paramount importance, that’s for sure.

“Packie (McAllister) and myself will go and watch their game against Crusaders on Wednesday night. We’ll then have to get our house in order on Saturday as it’s a big game.

“They’re down there with ourselves but they’ve got three points more than us so we’ve got to get the win that will bring us up level with them.

“Spike (Glenn Ferguson) has come out of retirement to play for them again so that’s food for thought..”

With the introduction of McAllister as Quinn’s number two, the boss is as yet unsure of what his starting 11 will look like on Saturday afternoon but is hopeful that some of his injured players will be back and ready for action:

“I can’t honestly say (if there will be any changes to the line-up) at the minute. We’re adopting a new approach this week and have new staff in so we’ll see what Packie and myself come up with.

“We’ll see how Jay Magee and Kyle Neill are. Conor Hagan will be back from honeymoon and Alan Davidson took in a game for the Reserves so hopefully we’ll have a few more players to pick from anyway.”