Jason McCartney is full of confidence for the second half of the season despite the club’s recent poor run of results. 
The Mallards are without a league win since October, a run that has dropped them perilously close to the relegation zone, but with Portadown visiting Ferney Park on Friday evening the winger believes the Mallards will turn the corner and start climbing the table.
“I think we can still finish the season very strong. We are still looking at that seventh spot and there is no reason not to if we can win three or four games in a row,” he said.
 “I always feel that we have a chance when we play Portadown. They are a good side with some good individuals but I think if you play as a team against them and work hard you can beat them. 
"That is what we did up in Shamrock Park already this season and I think if we are patient I honestly believe we can get three points. 
"It’s about time we gave the fans a home win. Our home form has been really bad and in the past that has been the thing that has been really strong, and that is what has kept us in the league. It’s all about the confidence. If we can get that one win then confidence will be high and everyone will want to get involved. I just hope we can get a win on Friday because it is a great bunch of lads and very good players, and I think just one win could lift us again and let us push on. 
There is no reason to believe that we can’t push on for seventh place if we can get three points on Friday.”
One source is optimism for Jason is the influence of new signing Ivan Sproule. The former Northern Ireland international has only been at the club for one week, but Jason reckons his presence is already having a positive effect on the rest of the squad. 
“He is not just going to bring his own game but he is going to help other players,” he said. 
“He has been around and he knows what it takes to win games. Even in his first training session he was pushing boys on and giving everyone a boost. Players do react to other players and Ivan might not play every game but he is always going to be there to ask questions and in the dressing room to push players on. 
"You always feel that if you have a good player signing, you want to impress him and show him you are a good player. Everyone is going to want to impress Ivan and he will bring that extra bit out of the other players.”
Sproule’s first game for the club ended in disappointment on Saturday when they conceded two late goals before going out of the cup after a penalty shoot-out. Jason admitted it was a very disappointing finish to a game that had promised much. 
“When you haven’t won for so long you really want to hold on to the lead, and without realising it you are dropping back and dropping back,” he said. 
“You would think two goals from outside the box would be stopped one way or the other. 
"We should have closed down the ball and for their first goal we can’t let a centre back come that far up the pitch, but you still think a centre back from 25 yards eight times out of ten it would have gone wide or over the bar, so the luck is really going against us.”
Despite the defeat Jason believes there was plenty in the match to give the Ferney Park outfit hope for the future.
 “We have to focus on the positives,” he said.
 “It took us ten minutes to get going but once we scored we looked like we could have scored more. 
"Shane McCabe was very good in the middle of the park dictating the game and I think he was a massive loss when he came off injured. 
"I think that was big part of the how we lost the game. 
"Lafferty and Lecky were getting forward with myself, Rocket and Ivan and we were getting in better positions so I think there are a lot of positives,” he commented.