Warrenpoint Town boss Barry Gray insists he won’t be taking a ‘boom or bust’ attitude into Saturday’s relegation six pointer with Portadown at Shamrock Park (3pm).
A win would ease Town - who lie two points below the Ports - off the foot of the Danske Bank Premiership for the first time in five months.
But while it’s a massive carrot, with nine games still to play after today Gray knows survival won’t hinge on one trip to Mid Ulster.
“Listen, we know if we want to get off the bottom, we have to win and it’s an incentive, but at the same time it won’t be the end of the world if we don’t,” he said.
“There is still a lot of football to be played after this weekend, so it’s not a must win or ‘all in or no dinner’ type scenario. Having said that, it’s one we have to be really focused on.
“Bar the first couple of weeks of the season, I don’t know if we have been off the bottom, so this is the first opportunity I can remember that it’s in our hands to do that.”
While Warrenpoint were well beaten by Cliftonville midweek, they left Solitude with a 1-0 scoreline and head to Portadown on a relatively decent run of form.
A recent 2-2 draw at Glenavon and 4-2 win at Carrick Rangers preceded recent narrow losses at top six outfit Coleraine (1-2) and Cliftonville who are third and in the midst of a title challenge.
“We are going into Saturday relatively fresh and upbeat,” said Gray. “Cliftonville were a step above us on Tuesday but that’s fine, we have no qualms about that.
“We could have won on Tuesday and lost this Saturday and still be at the bottom, so that’s the way we have to look at it.
“Portadown have a new manager (Paul Doolin) and he has them set up solidly, so we know we’re going into a battle.
“But with all due respect to the opposition, it’s about us and what we have worked on. We have to focus on our rhythm and what makes us strong.”
