Only goal difference is keeping Ballinamallard out of the NIFL Championship relegation zone after Saturday’s home defeat to Limavady saw them fall to a fifth defeat in their last six matches.  

It is the team’s worst run of results since Mark Stafford took charge, but the manager has not lost belief in his squad and he remains confident that they will haul themselves out of trouble as the season progresses and injured players start to return to action.  

“There is no question we have the quality to be competitive in the league and to push up the table,” he said.  

“We have to keep working hard and keep believing and keep pushing.  It has been well reported about the issues we have off the pitch in terms of playing squad.

"It seems to have been one thing after another going against us, but we are hoping this is our rough period now, and when we start getting a few back then maybe other clubs start to experience the same problems as we are having now.

"It is just about getting those players who are out to come back and getting the players that are in there at the minute to keep improving and getting better. We will be in a better place then.” 

Despite their lowly points total in the league, Ballinamallard have started positively in the majority of league games this season.

They have held in the lead in ten of their fourteen matches, and the fact they have only held onto their advantage on four occasions is down to momentary lapses that the manager is desperate to eradicate. 

“We just seem to go sleeping for moments,” Stafford admitted.  

“I wouldn’t even say periods of the game, just moments in the game. We aren’t getting away with too many errors at the minute and we are getting punished.” 

Stafford feels the Limavady defeat was another example of this, as they conceded goals from a corner kick and a long ball.  

“Again, it was very fine margins. There wasn’t much in the game,” he said.  

“They had a good spell in the first half, and we were very good in the second half, but we just couldn’t get the equaliser.

"For the third week in a row, we go one nil up. They come into the game then and had quite a bit of the ball without causing us too many issues.

"They got a few set pieces and we defend them quite well, and then unfortunately we concede from a corner.  

"In the second half, they come out and score after a few minutes, and it was a poor goal on our behalf. They pump it down the pitch and we don’t deal with it and we react slowly and the ball rolls slowly into the goal.  

"Then we changed the shape of the team and had a go at them and created a golden chance, but unfortunately, we didn’t take it and they saw the game out.” 

Next up for the Mallards is the reverse of the opening day fixture against Ballyclare Comrades.

Ballinamallard came away from Ferney that day with a 4-0 win, but Ballyclare have won four of their last five games and Stafford is expecting a stern test.  

“We had a fantastic result against them in the first game of the season, but they are obviously a team in really good form at the moment and they are playing really well,” he acknowledged.  

“They are going to be at home and their tails will be up and they will be looking for revenge for that first game of the season.

"It is a ground that we don’t do particularly well at in the past so it's going to be a tough challenge, but we will prepare well for them and we will give it a go.” 

The Mallards will welcome Jamie Dunne back from suspension, while Peter Maguire will face a late fitness test on an ongoing hamstring problem.