Mayse says Swifts need to strike the right balance

RYAN Mayse believes Dungannon Swifts need to strike the right balance if they are to avoid getting dragged into another relegation scrap.

Last season Swifts finished bottom but only survived because there was no relegation due to the Championship failing to get off the ground.

Dungannon struggled at opposite ends of the pitch last time out. Up top there was a severe lack of goals while Dean Shiels’s side finished with the worst defence record in the league.

Shiels appears to have addressed that in part this season. Swifts are the second highest scorers but thus far they have failed to plug the holes at the back.

Mayse who has been regularly hitting the target and who scored again in Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Glenavon, believes he and his team-mates can strike the right balance.

“The way we play we are probably going to concede goals but some of the goals we are conceding we shouldn’t be if that makes sense,” said the Newtown man.

“Last season it was so hard to even create chances but this year we are providing a real threat, especially with the boys on the wings with Darragh (McBrien), Rhyss (Campbell) and McAleer with their pace.

“Dean said to me at the start of the season that he wanted me to add goals to my game and so far I have been able to do that.

“But we need to get the balance right, we need to be able to see games out without conceding. I genuinely can’t remember the last time we won two games in a row. That’s not a good stat. We need to back that win against Portadown up sooner rather than later.”

This evening (Friday) Swifts host Carrick Rangers at Stangmore Park in a game that is being streamed live by the BBC.

Mayse believes there is an opportunity to put points on the board but accepts that that could be easier said than done.

Under Stuart King, Rangers have made a decent start to the season and are currently placed seventh on 13 points.

“There’s no better place to start than against Carrick, it’s teams like Carrick we need to be beating. It’s a mini league for us,” continued the north Tyrone man.

“Carrick have signed well, I was chatting to Jim Ervin recently and he’s loving it there, everyone seems to be singing off the same hymn sheet. Carrick are always a dogged team, even when I think back to the time I was at Ballinamallard.

“Friday night will come down to which team wants it the most and who works the hardest. I genuinely think we have a better squad but it will boil down to whoever works hard and wants the victory most.”

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S DUNGANNON HERALD