The Invermen are wounded going into the 1pm kick-off at Windsor Park on Saturday after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home to Coleraine on Tuesday
Larne boss Gary Haveron has reminded his players they are where everyone else wants to be as the league leaders travel to the reigning Champions for huge game in the title race.
The Invermen are wounded going into the 1pm kick-off at Windsor Park on Saturday after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home to Coleraine on Tuesday, having played an hour with 10 men.
That defeat saw their lead over Glentoran cut to three points with three Premiership games remaining.
This could be another pivotal day in the title race, but Haveron was keen to point out that any other team behind them would swap places with his side as he looks to steer his hometown club to their third title in four seasons.
“We need to be in the best shape possible come Saturday,” he said.
“We also need to show character, we need to show grit, determination. We need to have people who are ready for the fight on Saturday.
“We know it’s going to be difficult on a big pitch at Windsor, but we have to dust ourselves and be ready to go again.
“At the end of the day we’re top of the league and three points clear – we’re still where we want to be.
“Anyone would rather in our position than anywhere else so it’s up to us to take advantage of that and to give ourselves the best chance in these last few games.”
Tuesday’s defeat to Coleraine was their second in four days, having also suffered Irish Cup semi-final disappointment after extra-time against the Bannsiders last weekend.
“It’s incredibly small margins against all the top teams at this stage of the season,” he said.
“Last Saturday there was nothing in the game really and on Tuesday the big decisions went against us.
“We can’t dwell on that though, we have to be looking ahead to give ourselves the chance of being in the best shape.
“We dusted ourselves down this week and it was all about what we need to do going forward.”
Larne boss Haveron went with the same XI in both the Cup and league defeats to Coleraine, but may look to freshen things up ahead of the early kick-off on Saturday against David Healy’s side.
He added: “After Saturday I knew the players were hurting and I wanted to give them a chance to put it right.
“Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. As a manager sometimes you have to hold your hand up and reflect on things and ask what we could have done differently.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing and now we have to react in a positive way.”
Having won all four league games and overseen Irish Cup progress away to Glentoran in March, Haveron was named as the league’s manager of the month yesterday.
He is now hoping to kickstart another impressive run of form in the last month of the season.
“It’s always an honour to win this award, it would not be possible without the help of our backroom staff and the players, who have worked so hard this season,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve not carried our March form into April with the two defeats against Coleraine.
“But that’s football. There’s still plenty to play for with three massive league games between now and the end of the season, starting with Linfield on Saturday.”
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