Ballinamallard have hit a good run of recent form, picking up three wins from their last four games, but manager Gavin Dykes says they can’t afford to rest on their laurels as they prepare for Saturday’s trip to league leaders Crusaders.
The back to back wins against Glenavon and Ards have lifted the Mallards up to ninth place in the table but Dykes accepts that his side face a huge task on Saturday at Seaview.
“We are in good form, we’ve won three out of our last four, but it is going to be a very hard place to go. 
“They are champions for a reason, they have a really big squad, they have really good players and are really well organised. 
“On top of that we are also going to be missing a couple of players as Adam Lecky is suspended and I would imagine Shane McCabe probably won’t make it either as he has played through the pain this last couple of weeks while Steve Feeney is a doubt although we are hoping he will make it. 
“With a small squad it means we are down to the bare bones,” he stated.
Crusaders pose threats from all areas and in Jordan Owens they have a striker who is not only a goal-scorer but who provides a real physical test for defenders while they have players who are able to deliver quality into their front men. 
Dykes acknowledges that this something that the Mallards will have to deal with on Saturday.
“They hit a lot of long balls so it is very important that if you don’t win the first one, you win the second one. 
“Jordan Owens is a real threat and they have some excellent wide players so it is going to be a test. 
“By all accounts they haven’t hit top form yet and hopefully they won’t hit top form on Saturday. It’s one of those of we get something out of it, it’s fantastic. 
“Hopefully we can go and put in a performance and the last couple of games have shown that if the players work hard they can get results so hopefully it will be more of the same,” he commented.
And it is that work ethic that is key for Dykes who wants his side to maintain the work rate and effort that they put in during the wins over Glenavon and Ards and have no more repeats of the Coleraine performance.
“Once you have players coming in off the pitch having given 100 percent, it doesn’t matter what the result is, you have to accept that they have done their best for you. 
“Since the Coleraine game the response we have got has been brilliant. 
“I said to the players that it is very easy to get a response  for one game but we have got to get it every week. 
“It’s only two games we’ve won and we’ve got to do a lot more than that but if we don’t have many Coleraine days, we will be alright, I’m certain about that,” he added.
Having gone six games without a win, those two in a row have lifted things at Ferney Park. 
“When you are coming to training and you are not getting the result you want and you are not getting the performances you want it can be difficult. 
“Confidence is a big thing in footballers lives, it always is,” said Dykes.
Ballinamallard have looked more solid defensively in recent weeks with the back four supported by a hard working midfield of Shane McCabe, James McKenna and Liam McMenamin.
“One thing I will say about the three lads in there is that they will work really hard. Shane McCabe has done really well this season, you know what you are going to get out of James McKenna, he is the club captain for a reason and Liam McMenamin has also done well and he is a very good passer of the ball,” explained Dykes.
And he feels that they are carrying more of a threat going forward.
“The problem with Ballinamallard last year was scoring goals but we are creating quite a few chances and we’re scoring goals. I think there is only two games we haven’t scored in. If we can score goals and be more solid at the back we’ll be fine,” he stated.
Indeed, Dykes is positive that his team will only get better as the season progresses.
“We will get better,” he stated.
“The players have bought into what we want to do and I suppose I can be fairly demanding because we want the best for the club and if the best we can do is finish as high up the table as we possibly they can then that’s what we want,” he said.