Walker wants players to 'keep meter running'

The Sky Blues boss is gearing his team for crucial Carling Premiership matches at home to Lisburn Distillery tonight (Tuesday, 7.45pm) and at Donegal Celtic this Saturday (3pm).

United currently sit in fifth place in the table but the manager believes that two positive results can provide the springboard for Ballymena to have a realistic push at challenging for a coveted top six position for the first time since the mid-season 'split' format was introduced three years ago.

"I personally feel that after the Donegal Celtic game, the table will have a shape, bar maybe one team moving north or south," said Walker.

"I feel that by that stage, if you were a gambling man, where teams are in the table will be the end that teams compete at over the rest of the season.

"This is an important time of the season and these are the type of games that test the character of a team.

"Distillery would be a great game to win but they have experience throughout the side, the weapon of Andy Hunter's long throws, Spike and Gary Browne up front.

"People talk about 'this is a must-win game'. If you don't win it, what do you do then?

"My way of describing it is, as long as the meter is running, as long as you keep adding to our points tally you give yourself a chance of staying in the right end, because this is a tight league.

"We're at the stage where we're waiting on the good players turning in good performances.

"If we do win it, we'll be back on track but we'll try to keep a sense of perspective and try to get more out of the players we have."

Walker is once again ready to shuffle his personnel and may be able to call upon club captain Gary Haveron, who missed Saturday's 1-1 draw with Dungannon Swifts with flu.

"We'll have to try to get a nice, fresh approach to Tuesday night.

"Gavin Taggart has been limping through games with calf trouble in recent weeks and he has certainly looked as though he has been playing within himself.

"Ryan Berry limped off in a reserve game last week with a recurrence of the same hamstring – he's probably back to square one."

The manager remains without the services of injured striker Andy Smith, who is awaiting an ultrasound examination and an injection of steroids to combat a deep-seated groin problem.

"We have a date of October 12 but that is too far in the distance and we're trying like mad to bring it forward.

"There's not many people can do this procedure but the ones who can are chock-a-block," added Walker.

As revealed in last week's Times Sport, out-of-favour United sriker James McLaughlin has joined Championship Two side Portstewart on loan.

utility player Mark Surgenor received a boost this week when the chest pains which forced out of last week's game against Coleraine were diagnosed as a muscular condition and not anything related to the heart.

Seven Towers Supporters' Club transport for Saturday's game at DC leaves Henry Street car park at 1.45pm.