MICHAEL O’Connor says the squad are pleased with their last two performances but know they need to be more ruthless in both boxes ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Glentoran…

The Bannsiders produced a dogged performance to deservedly beat Ballymena United last Saturday, before two defensive lapses cost them dear in a 2-1 defeat against Cliftonville on Tuesday night.

The defeat at Solitude was a sore one to take for Dean Shiels’ side as they were more than a match for the Reds.

With that in mind, O’Connor says it’s important that the squad are more clinical in both boxes.

He stated: “On Tuesday I thought our shape was really good, hard to break down, bit individual errors at times is costing us.

“Sometimes against the run of play when we’ve been on top.

“You can do so much in training but once you cross the white line it’s about not making mistakes, but we’re really happy with the last two performances.

“Four of the last five games – the only game against Linfield where we were beat well on the day – against the Crues, I thought we were the better team that day and if we had got the second goal I think we might have kicked on.

“But football’s all about fine lines and you’ve got to capitalise when you’re on top.”

After four successive Premiership games on the road, O’Connor acknowledged it is nice to return to The Showgrounds but knows Glentoran have players who can hurt the Bannsiders.

“They have players that individually can win you games,” he continued.

“They look more solid this year, they’re a hard working team, it’s gonna be a tough game, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to.

“The last four games we’ve played have all been away so it’s good to be back at home and getting the fans behind us.

“It’s a big game to go into and it’s a good game to go into after Tuesday night.

“You look at Ballymena – they lost their first three or four games and then they won eight and they were sitting top for a while. It’s so close this league.

“Usually around October/November time you see three or four teams pulling away but this year it’s not happening.

“Dungannon and Ballymena are up there in the top four so we know that if we can win two or three on the bounce – which we haven’t won games back to back this year – so if we can get a wee run going it’ll give the boys confidence.”

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