Danske Bank Irish Premiership: Glenavon v Carrick Rangers (tonight, Mourneview, 7.45pm)
NO fans, no atmosphere at games, every shout echoes around the empty terraces, weekly Covid testing with no end in sight - and Glenavon are sitting in eighth position in the Irish Premiership.
Despite everything, the erratic results and the stop-start nature of the campaign, Gary Hamilton is just thankful there is football being played and admitted he “struggled mentally” during the first lockdown.
As the Lurgan Blues prepare to face a resurgent Carrick Rangers at an empty Mourneview Park tonight, Hamilton hopes it won’t be long before football fans can be phased back to games.
“I was out of football during the first lockdown and that’s when your head is not right,” said Hamilton.
“I’ve no shame in saying it, I was struggling mentally in terms of dealing with it. From 7.30am to 9.30pm, I was always involved in football. All of a sudden I had nothing going on in my life.
“Some people were working from home and had a wee bit going on that kept them sane. But everything I had going was gone in one go.
“You miss the crowds and that’s a big part of football. But we’re lucky we’re still playing football and when you can’t do that, that’s when you struggle as I certainly did.
“I feel sorry for the fans because a club is a big hub of the community but people aren’t getting out once a week to meet their friends and have a pint or whatever they do.”
Hamilton added: “Since we’ve been back after that two-week circuit-breaker, it’s good to get your head working again and having something to focus on. You realise how much you take for granted because of the situation we find ourselves in.”
Glenavon are six points off breaking into the top six while their visitors have caused a couple of upsets in recent days – drawing with Linfield before claiming the scalp of Crusaders – which gives Carrick hope of climbing out of the bottom two.
Rangers boss Niall Currie has proven one of the most resourceful managers in local football, working on a shoestring budget and moulding a side that regularly punches above their weight.
“Whenever I came into the Glenavon job we were right down at the bottom by three points,” Hamilton said.
“It was a struggle for the first four or five months. It took me two years to get the players in I wanted. It’s probably the same with Niall [Currie], a lot of his signings are probably punts and gambles, but when you’re at the bottom it’s even more so.
“I had to do that in the January window when we signed four lads from the Leinster League who hadn’t been playing for four months.
“Obviously some of us have more of a budget. And yet, outside of the top few teams, Carrick were probably the best team we played last season.
“We beat them 1-0 but if truth be told they should have beaten us five or six, they battered us, and when we did go up to Carrick they did batter us and gave us a lesson. So we’ve had really difficult games against Carrick.
“If the managers are doing their jobs the top four should be Linfield, Larne, Crusaders and Glentoran when you look at their budgets. If they don’t finish in the top four, the manager is not doing their job because the size of the squads they have.”
Tonight’s fixtures: Portadown v Glentoran (7.30pm); Ballymena v Coleraine (7.45pm); Glenavon v Carrick Rangers (7.45pm); Warrenpoint Town v Dungannon Swifts (7.45pm)
