For experienced Ballinamallard midfielder Shane McCabe, the sole focus is on reaching numerical safety and ensuring the club’s Premiership status.

The Mallards go into the split on a run of five successive defeats although four of those have come against sides in the top six.

Eight points currently separates them and 11th placed Carrick Rangers in the battle to avoid the play-off spot and McCabe knows that there is work to be done yet before Gavin Dykes and his players can relax.

“We’ve had a bad run of results lately although a lot of those games were against the sides at the top end of the table and our last two games were against the top two, Crusaders and Linfield.

“We maybe need another six points to be safe but we’ll be targeting wins in every one of the last five games and certainly the sooner we can get numerically safe the better. That’s the goal for us, it’s what we are focusing on and we won’t be relaxing until we achieve that. Everyone in the changing room knows the score and nobody will be resting on their laurels thinking that they are safe. There is still work to be done,” he stated.

Next up for the Mallards is a meeting with Glentoran at Ferney Park on Saturday week and the Ducks will certainly be hoping to make the most of the fact that four of their last five games are at home.

“I think that is a positive thing for us and we have been playing quite well at home. We have Glentoran first at Ferney and and the two years that I have been here we seem to do reasonably well against them, so it is an opportunity for us to get a result. We will recharge the batteries between now and then and maybe get a few bodies back but it’s definitely a match that we will be targeting points and getting back to winning ways.” said the Belcoo man.

After a spell on the sidelines with a foot injury, McCabe returned to the side on Saturday and was an influential figure for the home side in their meeting with David Healy’s Linfield although the day was to end in disappointment as the visitors snatched the win through Stephen Lowry’s late screamer.

“I was glad to get back on the pitch and to be honest I thought in the first half I did reasonably well but fitness would be an issue for me at the minute as I haven’t done anything for four or five weeks so I’ll be doing a few extra sessions over the next couple of weeks to get the fitness levels up again and try to give something over the last five matches,” he said.

McCabe felt that the Mallards were unlucky not to take something from the game against the Blues.

“I thought in the first half while they had one or two chances, we were by far the better team. I thought the save from Mayse by their goalkeeper at the end of the first half was a bit of a turning point because if we had went two up at half time we would have been in a great position.

“We then came out at the start of the second half we took a period to settle, we gave away a goal and we didn’t respond that well to that for 10 or 15 minutes. But we got back into it and we had a great chance to go back in front but unfortunately Jay’s chance came off the top of the crossbar and they go down the other end and score a wonder goal. It was a tough enough one to take,” he commented.

There has been speculation that this may be McCabe’s final season in the Irish League but the player himself states that he will make no decision until the end of the season and that the only thing he is thinking off at the minute is getting to safety.

“I’ve had a good career in Irish League terms but I’ll sit down at the end of the year and evaluate where I am at from a personal and family point of view and then I’ll take it from there. At the minute I’m just concentrating on getting Ballinamallard safe and keeping them in the Premiership which I think this team is well capable of doing,” he said.

And the midfielder is confident that the club has a bright future ahead with plenty of young, exciting talent in Dykes squad.

“There is a lot of young quality there. The defence on Saturday was very young and Ben McCann has come in lately and done very well. You have Callum Frempong, you have Niall Owens who I think we will see a bit of between now and the end of the year and is a player who as far as I’m concerned has the lot.

“On top of that you have the likes of McGinty, Mayse, Curran, McIlwaine, all who are quality players. When you look at it, it is a very good youthful team and they will only get better. The key now is to stay in the league.”