Coleraine boss wants his team to be more ruthless

COLERAINE head coach Dean Shiels has called on his players to be 'more ruthless' as they return to Dungannon Swifts for the second time in the space of a week.

A late Matthew Shevlin goal earned the visitors a share of the points in a 1-1 draw last Saturday but this weekend there has to be a winner as the Irish Cup takes centre stage with a place in the last eight up for grabs.

"We're feeling good," admitted Dean Shiels at his weekly press conference.

"Obviously scoring late on last week felt like a win at times because of how much we put into that game.

"I think we really deserved something out of it and when you score in the dying seconds – which has happened to us a couple of times this season where we've conceded in the dying seconds at Glenavon and Portadown - mentally, we feel good about ourselves going into the game.

"We're delighted at how many chances we're creating. With the attacking players we have and the way we're playing, it's just about that last wee bit in the final third.

"We like to give players the freedom when they're in the final third so it's about us brushing up on the execution and the finishing.

"Hopefully it's gonna come for us and we can be a bit more ruthless when those chances come," he added.

Defender Graham Kelly remains out with a long-term injury while teenager Aidan Tejada remains a doubt after picking up an injury in the North West Cup final win over Ballinamallard United. Corey Smith will be assessed after missing the league draw with a slight hamstring worry.

However, there was better news for talented midfielder Alfie Gaston who got some minutes for the club's Under-20s after missing several months through injury.

"The squad will be tested as we've a three game week coming," continued the Coleraine head coach.

"We've Cliftonville in midweek so we're gonna have to utilise the squad as much as we can.

"Levi went off with a bit of cramp last week but he should be fine for Saturday."

As for a cup run, that's something the head coach appreciates fans of all football clubs relish.

"It's up to us to give the fans something to shout about," he admitted.

"They pushed us right to the very end last Saturday for us to get something out of the game and we're gonna need that again.

"The players recognise how much the cup means to the fans and we want to try and give them that day out at Windsor and we'll be doing everything we can to try and make that happen."