Impress me says Quinn

MARTY Quinn has called on his fringe players to step up to the mark if given the chance to impress against Portstewart in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Saturday.

Glenavon take on the Ladbrokes.com Championship Two side at Mourneview Park (kick-off 3pm) in the second round of the competition and the gaffer wants the likes of Mark Haughey, James Costello and Sammy Stewart (last week’s used substitutes) to give him a selection headache.

“I was always going to make a few changes against Portstewart anyway and give a few of my fringe players a run out so yes, there’s a chance they’ll start the game on Saturday,” he told the ‘MAIL.’

“James looked very lively when he came on and contributed to the third goal before scoring the fourth himself. He did very well. Sammy passed it about well and I thought he did quite well too.

“We’ll have players coming in with an opportunity of putting their mark on the team-sheet so hopefully they’ll do that and play to their best ability. If anyone comes in and does a really good job they’ve a chance of playing against Linfield on Tuesday night.”

However, it’s unlikely that the club’s promising young reserve team players such as Cameron Grieve or Chris Lavery will be given a starting place as the boss doesn’t want to underestimate Saturday’s opponents.

“At this moment in time I wouldn’t envisage that happening,” he said.

“I don’t want to make too many changes and that would be seen to be a certainty that we’re going through. I couldn’t do that and I think we’ll have to keep ourselves on guard. It’ll be a big day out for Portstewart and they’ll be up for the cup.