Ballinamallard manager Harry McConkey admits that it is a tough time for both management and players but he still has faith that they will be able to turn things around.

Defeat to Knockbreda was the Mallards fifth in a row in the league and leaves them at the wrong end of the table but McConkey retains belief that things will start to move in the right direction.

"Anybody who knows me, knows how much I care about results and they will know that this is not a pleasant time for me or the players. I do firmly believe that there is only one way to grasp it and I told the players after the match that you can over-analyse, you can talk all you want but it is about actions and the actions can only be on the training pitch and on a Saturday.

"The important thing is that I keep a self belief and a group belief that we can turn this around and push on and I firmly believe that we do that," he said.

The Ducks boss feels that they need to show improvement at both ends of the pitch if they are to begin to climb the table.

"There are two truth areas in football, in both boxes, and you have got to be solid in one and you have got to make sure that you take the chances when they are presented in the other. We haven’t done that. On Saturday we have put the ball in the box and created chances but we took none of them and then the goal that they got was a horrible goal from our point of view," he added.

McConkey also wants to see more aggression from his side but he stresses that aggression must be controlled.

"We need to be a bit more aggressive but I believe that the most valuable form of aggression is controlled aggression. That to me is working hard off the ball and competing for every ball and showing the correct leadership on the pitch. I want to see people wanting it badly enough and when we go out against teams we match them for every ball, every run, every challenge, those are the things that I want from my players in terms of aggression," he commented.

This week the Mallards face another tough away trip as they got to H&W Welders but McConkey knows that a result there would provide a massive lift.

"We are going to a very difficult environment. It is a small pitch with an uneven surface. The Welders got a very good win away to Loughgall last week so that will have lifted them. I hope though that we can go there and get a result, there would be no greater lift than if we could do that," he said.

Injuries to Ryan Campbell and Gary Henderson have left them doubts for the game but Matthew Smyth is available.

"Having hopefully got Matthew Smyth back for Saturday it looks like Ryan Campbell and Gary Henderson are doubts. However, we had Richard Clarke and Ryan O;'Reilly on the pitch on Saturday which was a big boost. We also had Sean McEvoy back and I thought he was excellent at right back and gave us that energy that he has and fought for every ball," stated McConkey.